
Book: 



-'iT -ri 



GoiAii^ht^" 



coK-RiGirr DEPOsm 




ROHl.KY I). EVANS. 

Krom a pho.o«r,ph ..ken on .he bridge of the b,..le ship Iowa. 



A SAILOR'S LOG 

Recollections of Forty Yean 
of Naval Life 



By 



/ 



ROBLEY D. EVANS 

Rear-Admiral, U. S. N. 




ILLUSTRATED 



New York 

D. Appleton and Company 

1901 



&1^ 



\ 




Bv D. 



Copyright, 1901. 
APPLETON AND COMPANY. 



TO 

MY WIFE, 

WITHOUT WHOSE INSPIRATION AND ASSISTANCE 
IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN, 

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I.— Life in Virginia before the war . . . i 

A Southern nurse — Going to market — The days of slavery 
— Loyalty of the slaves. 

IL — With the Indians and buffalo . . . .10 
Boyhood in Washington — Adventures of travel — Among the 
buffalo — Camping on the plains — A fight with Indians — 
" Little Breeches " — Whistling Indians. 

III. — In the Mormon country 25 

A Mormon train — A surprising shot — Brigham Young — A 
prairie storm. 

IV. — A CADET AT Annapolis 35 

Hazing at Annapolis — A time of anxiety — A narrow escape 
— On the Constitution — Loss of discipline. 

V. — The early days of the war .... 46 
A divided family — A middy's experience — My rebel brother 
— Under discipline. 

VI. — First active service 55 

Divided authority — The first command — Admiral Lardner 
— The Flying Squadron — Troublesome sailors — A fatal ac- 
cident — A weird experience — Homeward bound. 

VII. — The first Fort Fisher campaign ... 74 

Arrival of troops — The powder boat — The bombardment — 
Under fire. 

VIII.— The assault on Fort Fisher .... 83 
The landing — Ready to attack — A bloody assault — A duel / 
to the death — Helpless from wounds — A desperate battle — 
Care of the wounded — The aftermath of battle. 

iii 



A Sailor's Log 



CHAPTER PAGE 

IX.— Experiences of a convalescent . . . loo 

Defying the doctors — Days of suffering — A difficult journey. 
X. — Sea service in the Orient . . . .107 
On the Piscataqua — In Rio Harbour — A visit to Cape 
Town — A quick shot — Chinese pirates — Thieving boat- 
men — A disappointing " system " — Smoking opium. 

XI. — Stormy days in Japan 125 

A threatened attack — Curios and coins — Japanese honesty 
— An execution — Indifference to death. 

XII.— Hong-Kong and the Philippines . . .136 
With English officers — Sport in China — Boat racing — An 
American victory — At Singapore. 

XIII. — Some Oriental diversions 146 

The land of cobras — A thrilling experience— Racing the 
Colorado — Return to New York. 

XIV.— A NEW VIEW OF Annapolis 155 

Coloured cadets. 
XV. — On board the Shenandoah . . . • "SS 
English hospitality — English sea power — Old-fashioned 
torpedoes — Hunting in Morocco — A heavy storm — Navi- 
gator and milkman — An inefficient fleet — Gun and tor- 
pedo practice. 

XVI.— A CRUISE to Africa 174 

Madeira and Santa Cruz — Visit to Orotava — A desecrated 
cemetery — The President of Liberia — Capturing a shark 
— Coaling under difficulties — An African magnate — News 
from home. 

XVII.— In the Mediterranean 190 

At Marseilles — Features of Port Mahon — A storm at Na- 
ples — At the gambling tables — A race with Spaniards — 
Odd sport at Carthage — Overawing a P.-isha — A trip on land 
— A lively octopus — A ghost aloft — An ineffective fleet. 

XVIII— TuF. Centennial ani> tkaimno-shii' duty . 213 
Long-distance signalling — Mental over-training — The 
boys' good work — English hospitality — A big gun — A 
boar hunt — A jackal shot. 

iv 



Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIX. — Metallurgy and lighthouses . . . 229 

Ordered to Baltimore — On waiting orders — Lighthouse 
service — New ships— All about a buoy — An unsea- 
worthy ship. 

t'^ XX, — The Yorktown's cruise to Chile . . , 243 
A heavy sea — A pig lost — At Montevideo — A pig found 
— In the Straits — In Smythe's Channel — At Valparaiso. 

XXI. — Chilean hostility 258 

Trouble in Chile — Calls of courtesy — Impending revolu- 
tion — Chilean insolence — A dilemma — A plot suspected. 

XXII. — Strained relations 270 

A curious Christmas — Sensational journalism — A doubt- 
ful story — War talk — A New Year — Chilean justice — 
The sacking of Santiago — Startling information — Read- 
ing the riot act — The power of the flag — Salvo con- 
ducto — An embarrassment of refugees. 

XXIII. — A WELCOME departure 295 

Saucy torpedo boats — A trip over the Andes — A Callao 
painter — Turtles. 

XXIV. — From Chile to Bering Sea . . . .305 
An earthquake — Too much " Fighting Bob " — The so- 
cial whirl — Off for Bering Sea. 

XXV. — The navy among the sealers . . .315 
Seal poachers — Arctic scenery — At Unalaska. 

XXVI. — Striking at the source of supplies . . 323 
Big fishing — A disappointment — Warning the sealers — 
A volcano. 

XXVII.— The home of the seals 332 

A supply ship seized — Ugly weather — Capture of the 
Winifred — A nest of pirates. 

XXVIII.— Cruising in high latitudes . . . .343 
Good shooting — Arctic fruits — Gun accidents — Tardy 
approval — Concealed rocks — How the Russians did it — 
A hurricane — Natural history — Return to San Francisco. 
V 



A Sailor's Log 



CHAPTER PACK 

XXIX.— In command of the New York . . .362 

The Lighthouse Board — Fire at Port-of-Spain — OfTfor 
Kiel — in the Channel — A nigger prince — Arrival at 
Kiel. 

XXX.— The Kiel celebration 374 

A skilful emperor — Opening ihe canal — Fireworks — 
A prince unawares. 

XXXI.— The German emperor 382 

A ball on board — Inspection by the emperor— A talk 
with the emperor. 

XXXII.— Back to home waters 389 

Fleet drills. 

XXXIII. — On the Indiana 393 

In dock at Port Royal — A critical moment — A terrific 
gale — A cutter race — The Personnel Bill. 

XXXIV. — The approach of war 404 

Effect of the Maine disaster — Preparing for war — A 
base wanted. 

XXXV. — The Havana blockade 410 

Off for Cuba — Blockade established — Ordered to 
Puerto Rico. 

XXXVI.— The cruise to San Juan . . . .416 

Arrival at San Juan — A bombardment — A lesson un- 
der fire. 

XXXVII.— With the Flying Squadron . . .423 

A singular accident — The Flying Squadron — Bewil- 
dering orders. 

XXXVIII.— Fighting at long range .... 430 

Cervera discovered — Volunteers wanted — Hobson's 
exploit — Guantanamo seized — Startling orders — The 
search lights. 

vi 



Contents 



XXXIX.— The naval battle off Santiago . . 443 

The Spanish fleet appears — Shells coming aboard — 
Destruction of Spanish war ships — Farewell to the 
Vizcaya — An alarm — Caring for prisoners — A glorious 
Fourth — The end of war. 

XL. — Conclusion 460 

Presentation of a sword. 

Index 463 



Vll 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



FACING 
FACE 

Robley D, Evans Frontispiece 

The Powhatan .......... 60 

I persuaded him with my revolver to change his mind . . 94 

After Fort Fisher .......... 104 

Midshipman and Captain ........ 142 

The Congress .......... 176 

The Saratoga . . . . . . . . . .218 

Gunboat Yorktown ......... 244 

Harbour of Valparaiso, Chile 298 

A fur-seal family in Bering Sea ...... 334 

Visit of the German Emperor to the cruiser New York 385 

Battle ship Indiana ......... 394 

Battle ship Iowa . . . . . . . . . . 414 

Admiral Cervera's reception on board the Iowa . . . 456 



IX 



A SAILOR'S LOG 



CHAPTER I 

LIFE IN VIRGINIA BEFORE THE WAR 

Before spinning the yarn of my forty years in the 
navy, it seems only proper that I sliould give a short 
history of my life before entering the service. 
V I was born in Floyd County, Virginia, August i8, 
1846. 

My father, Samuel Andrew Jackson Evans, M. D., 
was a graduate of the University of Virginia, and 
named me, his first son, after Doctor Robley Dungli- 
son, who had been his instructor and dear friend. The 
home of my parents was in the mountains of Virginia, 
which, at the time of my birth, were almost as wild 
and rough as the partially settled mountains of the 
West. We did not have savage Indians to contend 
with, but we did have their savage white brothers. 

As a means of livelihood my father followed his 
profession of medicine, and he was the only doctor in 
a circuit of twenty or thirty miles. For pleasure he 
owned slaves and farmed, and when requested to do 
so, represented his constituents in the State Legisla- 
ture. The life of a doctor under such conditions was 
a very hard one, particularly in the winter season. Fre- 
quently he had to be in the saddle all night, facing the 

I 



A Sailor's Log 

storms of snow and rain, to help some sufferer who 
could only ofTer his thanks as pay, for most of the peo- 
ple were very poor. It was this exposure that finally 
cost my father his life in the prime of his manhood 
and usefulness. 

- My first distinct memory of myself is when I was 
about four years old. I had rather long, light-coloured 
curls, was sturdy in health, and wore a blue velvet suit, 
with a feather in my cap for ornament. On hiring 
day, when the slaves were assembled at the court- 
house to find employers for the next year, I wandered 
about the village streets and considered myself of im- 
portance. At this time I rode from my home to the 
schoolhouse every day, a distance of five miles; and 
while I can recall the way the teacher used to thrash 
the boys, first sending them to cut the birches, I can 
not recall that I ever learned anything. 

4 When I was six years old I was the happy possessor 
of a gun, a pony, and a negro boy. The first I learned 
to handle with considerable skill, was devoted to its 
use, and in all my life since have found both health and 
pleasure from the hunting habit formed at that early 
age. The pony, as I now recollect him, seemed bent 
on breaking my neck; and the coloured lad, my con- 
stant companion, taught me, among other things, to 
smoke and chew tobacco. He impressed on my mind 
many superstitions and dreadful ghost stories, some of 
which I remember to this day. The pony had one 
marked characteristic which I can also recall. He 
would go beautifully as long as I was going his way, 
1)ut any attempt to send him over a road he did not 
wish to travel led to trouble. He would turn round 

2 



A Southern Nurse 

and round and buck a few times, to rid himself of his 
mount, and, failing in this, lie down in the road and 
roll over. I managed, however, to get to the court- 
house on most days, and had much pleasure and com- 
fort from his ownership. 

Like most Southern children, I was brought up 
and cared for by a " blackmammy ." and I certainly 
loved her dearly. She was a short, thickset, very 
black woman, much the shape of a flour barrel. In 
addition to the care of four of us, she had had eight- 
een children of her own; but with it all she always 
had time to comfort me when I was in trouble, which 
I must say was frequently the case. No matter how 
busy she might be, she could make the time to coddle 
her young master and comfort him in a way that no 
other could. The memory of her corn bread and fried 
chicken lingers with me after all these years. She was 
freed in the early days of the civil war, and spent the 
rest of her life in the city of Washington. She died 
in the Howard Hospi tal_ at the good old age of one 
hundred and two years, and it was my great pleasure 
to know that in her last years I had given her every 
comfort that she could desire, and so paid off a small 
portion of the debt I owed her. My grandmother had 
given her to my mother as a marriage portion, and 
the faithful old soul had lived her life in our famih;^ 
connection. 

Life in the mountains of Virginia i«i my early boy- 
hood days was very different fro-in any I have ever 
known since. The country w^s thinly settled, and the 
people were as a rule po/^r, but what they had they 
freely shared with th'^ir neighbours. Their hospitality 

3 



A Sailor's Log 

was great and sincere. They were honest, hard-work- 
ing people, who insisted on straight dealing, and they 
sometimes took the law into their own hands to en- 
force their ideas. There were two things one must 
not do — steal horses or interfere with his neighbours' 
slaves. Churches and schools were few and widely dis- 
tributed. In place of the former we had the " circuit 
rider," who came and made himself at home almost 
as a member of the family, until his duties were per- 
formed, when he passed on to some other farmhouse, 
and so in turn visited the whole section. In the sum- 
mer time camp meetings were organized, and then the 
horsemen and horsewom^ gathered from all the sur- 
rounding mountains and enjoyed themselves in a very 
sensible way. Most of them prayed and sang until 
they were tired, and then withdrew to their tents and 
ate and drank the good things that had been prepared 
for them. Wheeled vehicles were not in use to any 
general extent for pleasure purposes, as the few roads 
we had were mere trails fit only for horses. Sometimes 
the camp would be made near a smooth stretch of 
road, and after the ministers and the shouters had done 
their work the young men would have their innings 
and speed their favourite horses; certainly there could 
not have been found a more healthful recreation or 
a V.appier way of passing a week during the heat of 

the sumfficT. , 

-» In the fall Or t^i^ Y^^^^ when the tobacco had been 
cured and the applt.crop gathered, the overseer on 
my father's farm usually -fitted out an expedition for 
Lynchburg. This consisted ?f J^ number of six-horse 
wagons, sufficient to carry the toli^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^-^'^ °ther 

4 




y 



Admiral Cervera's reception on board the Iowa. 



Going to Market 

things as were to be sold. When all was ready the 
start was made, and this starting was quite an occa- 
sion. Every man, woman, and child wanted something 
from town, and the list was never completed until the 
train was some miles on its way. I can recall now 
the joy with which I made one of these trips. I had 
a comfortable place in one of the wagons when I 
wanted to ride there, or I could mount my own pony. 
At night we camped by the roadside, and after sup- 
per listened to the songs of the teamsters and helpers 
until bedtime. Early dayhght found us under way after 
a breakfast of fried bacon and chicken, and such corn 
bread as one can never hav^ now, because such corn 
meal as we ate in those days is no longer made. When 
we arrived at our destination the tobacco was soon 
weighed into the warehouse, the apples and chickens 
and bacon sold, and then we enjoyed the shopping 
until our money was gone. My wants were few — a 
pair of high winter boots with red tops, a saddle for 
my pony, and a few pounds of powder and shot and 
half a dozen boxes of caps. Then we came home with 
our long list of things for the winter — everything from 
the family groceries to the Christmas presents for the 
slaves, down to the last pickaninny of them all, 

I remember well what a great joy the harvest 
season was to me as a youngster. After following the 
cradlers, splendid great black fellows, giants in phy- 
sique, until noon, the cradles were laid aside and the 
men gathered under the shade trees for their midday 
meal. Then the man who had led the gang had an 
extra glass of apple-jack to encourage him for the 
afternoon's work, also a few kindly words of encour- 

5 



A Sailor's Log 

agement from my father, if he happened to be present. 
That leader seemed to me one of the greatest men in 
the world! My particular duty and pleasure during 
these harvest days was to carry a basket lined with raw 
cotton in which I gathered the eggs of the Bob White. 
As the nests were cut over by the cradlers, the mother 
birds left, never to return, and I at once gathered the 
eggs and put them under sitting hens to be hatched 
out. There was one particular clover field which was 
the favourite nesting place of these birds, and of course 
my particular delight. I once gathered one hundred 
and twenty eggs in this field, and succeeded in hatch- 
ing most of them under a hen in the barn. When the 
small birds had got rid of their shells, it was interesting 
to see the old hen try to manage her unnatural brood. 
At the least bit of noise the whole lot would disappear, 
and you might search to your heart's content without 
finding one. The old hen would cluck and scratch 
with great energy, but the young birds remained in 
hiding until all danger was passed. As winter came 
on, I fed these birds in the barnyard, and they remained 
there until the spring came, when they disappeared 
in the grain fields. 

The winters were very severe, and. of course, life 
was mostly indoors. When the river was in condition 
for such sport, we spent much time in sleighing on it. 
My father had brought from the East a two-horse 
sleigh, and in this the family had many jolly rides, 
particularly on moonlight nights. For myself, I think 
I preferred to stay in the house, where it was warm, 
or run away with black mammy to the quarters and 
hear the negroes sing and see them dance. I don't 

6 



The Days of Slavery 

remember ever having much pleasure in the winter 
either in my boyhood or since; the mere fact of cold 
weather is enough to take the pleasure out of life for 
me. We usually had the house full of company both 
winter and summer, as we had connections who lived 
far enough North to enjoy the winters, and others 
living far enough South to enjoy the summers. 

Slaves were not owned in large numbers in the 
mountain regions of Virginia. There was no necessity 
for their labour. The amount of tobacco grown was 
small, and the country was thinly settled. Above all, 
the people as a rule were poor and did their own 
farm work. I don't remember how many my father 
owned. I can recall a dozen or more, and they cer- 
tainly were a happy lot. I never saw but one slave 
whipped, and he was struck a single blow with a raw- 
hide on his bare back for having ill treated a riding 
horse. My father never sold one of his slaves, yet 
stories were frequently circulated that he was going 
to do so, and this led to no end of trouble. One win- 
ter night we were sitting in the parlour eating apples 
and black walnuts, which was the habit of all Virginia 
children in that day, before retiring. There came a 
knock at the door, and when it was opened one of the 
negro men named Sambo presented himself covered 
with blood. He told my father that a robber had 
thrown a hatchet at him and cut him badly. On ex- 
amination it was found that Sambo's left hand was in 
bad shape — two fingers entirely cut of¥ and two others 
hanging by small bits of skin. His hand was dressed 
and he was sent ofT to his cabin; but the next day blood 
marks on the snow showed his trail, and we soon found 
2 7 



A Sailor's Log 

a stump on the bank of the river a mile or so from 
the house, where he had cut his own fingers ofT. He 
had missed his hand at the first blow in the dark, but 
the second time he succeeded. The axe with which 
the cutting was done was found near by, w^here he 
had thrown it. When confronted with the evidence 
he at once admitted his guilt, and pleaded as excuse 
that he believed my father meant to send him away 
from his family; that he had been so informed, and 
he knew that no one would buy him if he had only 
one hand. The poor chap learned to chop wood with 
one hand, and that was his sole occupation as long as 
I knew anything about him. After my father's death 
he was sold with the rest of the property, and brought 
seventy-live dollars. 

■--' Of course, no one can defend slavery as it existed 
in our Southern States, nor indeed in any form; but 
we must admit that in some ways the results were 
not wholly bad. No one can deny that in many cases 
slaves were cruelly treated, but this was not the gen- 
eral rule; it was not the business way of looking out 
for valuable property, to place it on no higher plane. 
Slaves, as a rule, were too valuable to be ill treated 
or neglected. The curse of slavery was to the white 
race and not the black. The bad effects were felt by 
the growing generation of whites; but as for the 
blacks, I am sure their lives were easier and happier 
then than since they were given their freedom. The 
slaves on my father's farm did not come themselves 
from Africa, but I have no doubt their parents, or cer- 
tainly their grandparents, did. It has been my fortune 
to see something of the Africans in their own coun- 

8 



Loyalty of the Slaves 

try, and when I compare them, with their brutal habits 
in their unlimited freedom and self-government, with 
the black people who were slaves in this country, I 
must conclude that slavery was not all bad. There 
was something about it that produced honesty and 
faithfulness and a race of men who, when their mas- 
ters were away fighting to keep them slaves, took the 
same care of the women and children as the masters 
would have taken of them themselves. Their record 
in this respect is certainly as fine as anything in his- 
tory. I believe there is not an authentic case of slaves 
having ill treated the women and children of their 
masters during the entire civil war. Imagine what 
would have been the result if these women and chil- 
dren had been left in the care of native Africans under 
such conditions! 

"-' My father died when I was ten years old, and I 
found myself the head of the family. In order that we 
might be near good schools, my mother moved at 
once to Fairfax Courthouse. There my schooling 
really began, but only continued for a short time. It 
was in Fairfax that the farmer said to his Northern 
friend who was congratulating him on the large size 
of his farm: '' I am not as poor as you seem to think. 
I don't own all that land!" The county was always 
rich in lawsuits, averaging probably one or two to 
the acre, and since the civil war it is rich in historical 
incidents. 



CHAPTER II 

WITH THE INDIANS AND BUFFALO 

■->J> In the year 1857 I was invited to make my home 
with my uncle, Mr. A. H. Evans, in Washington, 
which I gladly did, that I might have the advantage 
of good schools. I found this new home a real home, 
and from my uncle and aunt I received all the loving- 
kindness and attention that I could have had from 
my own parents; they treated me as one of their own 
children, except that they were never as severe with 
my small faults as they were with theirs. To my dear 
aunt I owe a deep debt of gratitude for her unfailing 
love and sympathy, and to my good uncle I owe my 
position in the navy. He was a lawyer by profes- 
sion, but at the time of which I write was clerk of 
the House Committee on Claims and a busy news- 
paper man. 

: Soon after reaching Washington I was fortunate 
enough to be admitted to the public school presided 
over by Mr. John W. Thompson, who was undoubtedly 
one of the best teachers Washington has ever known. 
I think I could have learned a great many things from 
this good man, but my career in his school was very 
short. One day, after a smart rainstorm, I was trying 
to sail a toy boat in a pond in the school yard when 

10 



Boyhood in Washington 

one of the larger boys smashed my boat with a stone. 
I immediately smashed him with another, and he was 
carried home on a door. I was soon at my home with 
my books and belongings, and thus ended my public- 
school life. After a few weeks I was entered at Gon- 
zaga College, preparatory to Georgetown College, 
and here I was lucky enough to remain until my 
school days in civil life were ended. In this excellent 
school I learned, or was supposed to learn, much 
Greek, Latin, and other things. Afterward, when I 
went to Athens on a vessel of war, I tried to practise 
some of my Greek, but only met with indifferent suc- 
cess; the people to whom I spoke were at a loss to 
know even what language I was trying to speak. 

Much of my spare time was spent about the com- 
mittee rooms of the Capitol, and on the floor of the 
House, where I made the acquaintance of some of 
the men who afterward became so prominent in the 
history of the country; among them I remember par- 
ticularly John A. Logan and Mr. Maynard, of Ten- 
nessee. I also passed many happy hours on the water 
front, watching the various sailing craft as they came 
and went. I had never seen salt water, and I don't 
think I knew a single naval officer; but somehow it 
came to me that I should like a sea life, and from this 
time on the idea was never out of my mind. I had 
about decided to run away to sea, when I made the 
acquaintance of Mr. Hooper, the delegate in Congress 
from the Territory of Utah, with whom my uncle was 
in some way associated. He asked me if I would like 
an appointment to Annapolis, to which I very 
promptly replied that nothing In the world would 

II 



A Sailor's Log 

please me so much. In order to have the appoint- 
ment, however, it was necessary that I should go to 
Salt Lake City and become a resident. I had four 
days in which to prepare for what was, at that time, a 
very long and dangerous journey; but the end of the 
fourth day found me ready for the start. 

When I left Washington, in 1859, by the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad, I carried all my worldly 
goods in a large, old-fashioned grip sack. It con- 
tained, among other things, a navy revolver, which 
was about half as long as I was, and the ammunition 
for this weapon. On my person in a money belt I car- 
ried two hundred and fifty dollars in gold, and in my 
pocket a ticket to St. Joseph, Missouri. I can recall 
after all these years the feeling of loneliness that came 
over me when I changed cars at the Relay House and 
headed for the West. The job that I had cut out for 
myself came to me then with full force, and I felt that 
the chance of my ever coming back was very small. 
But youth and health are great things, and I was soon 
comfortably asleep on one of the seats, happily ob- 
livious of my surroundings. In those days sleepers 
and dining cars were undiscovered luxuries. Passen- 
gers slept as best they could, and snatched their meals 
from designated stations along the road. Everything 
went well with me until we reached Davis, in the State 
of Missouri, where we were to spend the night, as 
there was no connection on to St. Joseph. Upon 
reaching the nearest tavern I deposited my travelling 
bag with the clerk in the office and retired, very sleepy 
and used up. When I awoke in the early morning I 
went to the offlce to get some necessary articles from 

12 



Adventures of Travel 

my bag, but upon trying the key found to my dismay 
that it would not unlock the valise given me, though 
it seemed from appearances to be mine. Investiga- 
tion soon disclosed the fact that an old gentleman who 
had gone East on a train at two o'clock in the morn- 
ing had taken my bag and left me his. The proprietor 
of the hotel wired for the lost article, but without suc- 

\j cess; so, after waiting over one train, I broke open 
the bag and found, among other things, half a dozen 
beautiful fine white linen ruffled shirts — any one of 
them large enough to make two or three garments 
for me. Quite a crowd had gathered in the of^ce of 
the hotel, all hands full of sympathy for the small kid 
who had lost his outfit. After overhauling the bag, 
I mounted a chair and disposed of the articles at auc- 
tion, and realized a sum quite sufficient to replace the 
things I had lost. 

At St. Joseph I met friends to whom I was con- 
signed, and they assisted me in finding a suitable party 
going my way, and in arranging the outfit. We were 
a party of six — five for California and one for Salt 
Lake City. Our wagons were soon purchased and 
stocked with the necessary provisions, blankets, etc. 
Then we bought the horses and arms, and in a few 
days we were ready to start. My riding animal was a 

\' rather large gray Mexican mule, which, as it after- 
ward turned out, could smell an Indian farther, and, 
under the influence of his scent, run faster than any 
animal in the outfit. I was, of course, a very light 
weight, and it was all I could do at first to manage the 
beast. He could outbite and outkick anything that 
ever came my way. Without intending to do so, I de- 

13 



A Sailor's Loer 



t> 



layed our start one day, and came very near delaying 
it for all time, as far as I personally was concerned. I 
had gone to a gymnasium with some other boys of 
my own age, when one of them did a trick on the hori- 
zontal bar which I was invited to imitate. I tried, 
^but brought up scjuarely on top of my head on the 
floor. Slight concussion of the brain was the result, 
and the doctor had me in hand that night and part 
of the next day. 

We finally ferried over the Missouri River and 
pulled out for our long trip over the prairies. Each 
member of the party had his particular duty and work 
to do, and each one had to do it to the satisfaction 
of the guide in charge, one Bromley by name. As I 
* "^ was very young and small, I was assigned to assist the 
cook in preparing meals, and was sometimes sent out 
after game, but was excused from standing watch at 
night. Each one had to look after his own animals, 
arms, etc. 

Our journey for the first few days was through the 
Kickapoo Indian country. We passed through several 
of their villages, the leading feature of which was the 
great number of wolfish-looking dogs they had; they 
were barking and snapping at our horses continually 
from the time we sighted the villages until we were a 
mile or so beyond them. These Indians seemed friend- 
ly, and, like all others that I saw. lazy and dirty, but 
picturesque. 

After the first week we headed for the South 
Platte River, and were soon among the buflFalo. 
We found them in scattered herds, and then in 
a solid mass — the whole country covered with them 

14 



Among the Buffalo 

as far as the eye could reach, Hterally untold thousands 
of them. At one time we drove through a herd for 
three days without ever being out of gunshot of these 
magnificent animals. Frequently we had to stop and 
put all our own animals between the wagons to pre- 
vent their being run over and stampeded. I noticed 
one curious trait of the buffalo: they would trot 
alongside of our outfit for miles, and then suddenly 
forge ahead and cross our track! They never seemed 
to care to cross behind us. When the herd was mak- 
ing for water, they seemed to travel in single file, with 
a fine full-grown bull in the lead. The straight, nar- 
row paths they made led over the top of any small 
hill or roll in the prairie; and we often saw the leader 
some distance ahead of the others, standing like a 
statue on an elevation, looking apparently for signs 
of danger. We shot many of them, of course, but in 
most cases only removed their tongues, leaving the 
rest for the wolves, which in large numbers hung on 
to the edges of the herd. The usual way of killing 
them was to ride up fairly close and empty a revolver 
into the one selected, aiming to strike behind the 
point of the shoulder blade. In most cases two or 
three shots were required before blood appeared at 
the mouth, which was a sure sign that the animal was 
done for. I used a Colt's revolving rifle, a five-shooter, 
and with this I was not required to get to such close 
quarters, a proceeding that my mule always ob- 
jected to. 

In this beautiful valley of the South Platte we 
passed many emigrant trains bound to the West and 
Northwest. They were corralled generally, sometimes 

15 



A Sailor's Log 

as many as fifty wagons in one corral, the horses feed- 
ing about over the plains during the daytime, but care- 
fully guarded at night, for fear of Indians, who were 
generally to be found looking for something to steal. 
The wagons had the canvas covers taken off, and the 
exposed frames used for " jerking " buffalo meat. 
Hundreds of buffalo were killed, the hides removed, 
and the meat cut into thin strips and hung on the 
wagon frames, where it slowly dried in the sun. Owing 
to the pureness of the air, no salt was required to pre- 
serve it, and meat thus treated would last the emi- 
grants all the way out to the Pacific coast. Our party 
did not care for "jerked'" meat, but we did enjoy 
many antelope hams, which were cured by simply put- 
ting them on the end of a pole fifteen or twenty feet 
long and exposing them to the sun for a day or two. 
All the way up the Platte Valley we met with the 
bufTalo in such vast numbers that the idea of exter- 
minating them would have seemed absurd, if such a 
thought had entered any one's mind; though they 
were killed by the thousand, it seemed to make no dif- 
ference in the size of the herds; but this was only be- 
cause no careful estimate of the number was made 
from year to year. As we drove or rode along over the 
prairie the carcasses of the buffalo covered the ground 
in every direction as far as the eye could reach. Im- 
mense numbers of piles of white bones showed where 
the animals had fallen in past years, and the thick 
brown spots indicated this season's work of destruc- 
tion. In most cases the tongue was cut out, and the 
rest left to decay or be eaten 1)y the wolves — the hide 
was not even removed. I came back over this same 

i6 



Camping on the Plains 

route in 1892, and was amazed to find that all these 
bones had been carefully gathered up, sent East, and 
sold. Where there had been millions of buffalo not a 
single herd of the magnificent game animals remained; 
all of them had been destroyed, and in a great measure 
wantonly. 

We crossed the Platte at Thompson's Ford, a hun- 
dred or so miles east of Pike's Peak, and struck ofif 
to the northwest toward Chimney Rock and Fort 
Laramie. The trail was fairly good, and our journey 
most comfortable. We usually made an early start, 
and, halting for a rest in the middle of the day, 
brought up in the afternoon in time to make ourselves 
comfortable before dark — this programme depending 
somewhat upon the water, which was a question of 
vital importance. Having reached the water, our tent 
was soon up, the wagons arranged so as to give as 
much protection and shelter as possible, and the horses 
secured near by to feed on the luxuriant grass. Then 
my part of the work was soon done: coffee, bread, and 
bacon or game were served, and after the guard for the 
night was arranged we turned in and were soon sound 
asleep. I was small enough to sleep comfortably in 
the body of one of the wagons, and this was my usual 
place. Sometimes I would vary the monotony by roll- 
ing up in my blanket and turning in on the grass under 
the wagon. When we reached the rattlesnake ground 
I broke myself very quickly of this habit, and always 
slept in the wagon. 

Fort Laramie was reached in due time, and, after 
replenishing some of our stores, we continued on our 
way. I think it was the second day out from this 

17 



.i-^ 



A Sailor's Log 

post that we had our first serious trouble. In trying 
to cross a small stream in a marshy place late in the 
afternoon our leading wagon stuck in the mud, and 
the united efforts of all hands failed to pull it out. 
We concluded to sleep over it, and so turned in for 
the night. At early daylight we found ourselves sur- 
rounded by hostile Indians, and they soon relieved 
us of all further bother about our outfit by chasing 
us away, taking what they wanted and burning the 
wagons. We saved some food, all our arms, powder, 
etc., and all the animals. The Indians made it very 
interesting for us for ten or twelve hours until we 
found cover, when we returned the compliment with 
interest. My old mule with his light mount was easily 
the fastest animal in that outfit. After standing the 
Pawnees off for some time and killing a good many 
of them, we made our way back to Fort Laramie, 
where we managed to secure one wagon and some 
pack animals, bought a fresh lot of supplies, and con- 
tinued on our way. 

We had frequent trouble with Indians until after 
passing Fort Bridger, where, owing to the absence of 
the buffalo herds, we were comparatively free from 
them. Once we were ambushed by the Blackfeet, a 
tribe supposed to be peaceable; but a hunting party 
of them thought it an easy way to get some fine ani- 
mals, and so laid a trap for us. We marched into 
their trap just after daylight in the morning, but as 
they had no guns, we soon got clear of them, after 
a hard tussle at close quarters. I was unfortunate 
enough to get an arrow through the tendon of my left 
ankle, which penetrated also the ribs of my mule, and 

i8 



A Fight with Indians 

made him perform many new tricks, much to my dis- 
comfort. After we had ridden a few miles over very 
rough ground and had sent the Indians on their way 
much reduced in numbers, we stopped to take account 
of stock. Bromley, the guide, was the only one be- 
sides myself who had been struck; he had an arrow 
through the skin over his stomach, which at first 
looked as if it had gone clear through him from side 
to side. My mule had only three arrows in him, but 
some of the animals resembled the " fretful porcu- 
pine," being struck pretty thickly all over. To get me 
out of the saddle was something of a job, as the arrow 
was driven through the buffalo hide of my stirrup and 
into a rib of the mule. Any approach toward him was 
enough to make him dance on his hind feet in true cir- 
cus fashion. A lasso around both of his forelegs finally 
brought him to terms, and then, the arrow being cut 
between my leg and his side, I was released from my 
unpleasant seat. The wound was not serious, having 
been made with a hunting arrow; but I rode mostly 
with one foot for a week afterward. A few days later, 
or rather a few nights, this same gang came very near 
getting us. We were camped in a grove of cotton- 
wood trees, and had no idea that Indians were after us, 
though we were on the lookout for them. In the mid- 
dle of the night a man rode into our camp at full speed 
and told us of our danger. He was a pony-express 
rider, and in passing the red devils one of them had 
struck at him with some sharp weapon and nearly cut 
his foot in two. His accident saved us from a hot 
fight, no doubt, and he remained with us until we 
reached the next express station. 

19 



A Sailor's Loe 



t) 



At Fort Bridger we were most kindly received by 
the officers and men of the Second Dragoons sta- 
tioned there. We remained several days, to get in 
good shape for the final lap that was to land us in 
Salt Lake City. There was a beautiful trout stream 
running through the fort, and I amused myself by 
trying to catch fish. I don't recall that I was very suc- 
cessful, though I perfectly remember seeing an Indian 
catch trout by snaring them. He sat on the bank of 
the stream, motionless as a statue; in his right hand 
he held a short rod or stick, from the end of which de- 
pended a fine copper wire with a loop in the lower end. 
He would watch a fish swimming slowly near him and 
slip the noose over its head and throw it out on the 
bank. This kind of sport required just the crafty, 
sneaking traits of an Indian. 

From Fort Bridger we made our way to Robin- 
son's Ferry on Green River, where we were destined to 
make quite a stay. Robinson was a Frenchman, and 
kept a trading post and ran the ferry over the river. 
His storehouses contained a vast stock of furs ready 
for shipment East, and in addition all the articles usu- 
ally dealt in by Indians and emigrants. Whisky, I 
think, was the leading article in demand by all parties, 
and this he had — very bad and in large quantities. 
Shortly after our arrival we placed all our horses in a 
corral near the storehouse, and were glad to think 
they were safe for the time. In the afternoon a party 
of Bannocks rode up and wanted to swap horses. One 
of our party went with them to the inclosure to let 
them examine our stock, but they had scarcely entered 
before they set up a yell, and away they went down 

20 



"Little Breeches" 

the river, horses and all. The last we saw of them 
my old mule was leading, and setting a hot pace for 
the rest. The Bannocks were too strong for us to think 
of following them, so we decided to remain where we 
were until some other parties arrived, when we would 
move on with them, and thus be better prepared to 
stand the Indians off if they attacked us. 

Two days after the stampede Washakie and his band 
of Snake Indians camped near us, and when we told 
him, or rather when his old friend Robinson told him, 
what had happened, he started *->€ with two or three 
hundred warriors after the Bannocks. At the end of 
four days he came back with a drove of horses, ours 
among them, and told us to help ourselves. Of course 
there had to be a powwow and smoke over his suc- 
cess, and during the ceremony he passed whisky 
around for all hands to drink with him. When he 
came to me, after looking at my small frame, he took 
the powder measure from his belt, filled it, and gravely 

'-' handed it to me with the remark " Little Breeches, 
drink that." I was known on the plains as " Little 
Breeches." 

During the evening of this powwow many of the 
Indians were howling drunk around the camp, and, I 
am sorry to say, most of the white men were in the 
same condition. I was rolled up asleep under our 
wagon, when I was seized and thrown on to an Indian 
pony by a son of the chief Washakie. I promptly 
slipped off on the other side as soon as I could free 
myself from the blanket, and ran for the storehouse, 
where I placed myself under the protection of Robin- 

V son. The young Indian came after me and explained 

21 



A Sailors Loe 



o 



that he wanted me to go to his camp with him, and 
that he meant me no harm. As he was quite drunk at 
the time, we concluded not to discuss the matter until 
the next day. The following morning Washakie him- 
self came, and after a long talk Robinson said that I 
had better go, as the chief had promised to bring me 
back safely at the end of ten days; that if I did not 
go willingly he would take me anyhow, and in that 
case there was no telling when I might get back. It 
was agreed that if the party had to go on before my 
return, my belongings should be left at the ferry for 
me, and that I should finish my journey with some 
other party. The Indians started up the Green River 
that afternoon, and had it not been for my fear of 
treachery I should have enjoyed my ten days among 
them very much. I learned afterward that Washakie 
had always been a stanch friend of the white men, 
and served them well on many occasions. He was 
very tall — over six feet — and the finest-looking Indian 
I ever saw. He was most kind and generous to me 
always, and brought me back at the time he had 
promised. 

While I was with them the Indians hunted nearly 
all the time, and killed large quantities of game 
of various kinds. The tribe consisted of about a thou- 
sand people, and when we camped their ponies and 
dogs seemed to cover the country for miles around. 
The ponies were so well trained that a warrior could 
walk a few steps from his wigwam and whistle or call 
his pony from the drove feeding on the prairie some 
distance away. I belonged to the chief's mess, so to 
speak, and had to sleep in his tepee, which was the 

22 



Whistling Indians 

most disagreeable part of my experience; the sleepers 
were too numerous and the air too foul for comfort. 
During the day we marched or hunted, and as soon 
as we were camped I was expected to wrestle with 
some of the Indian lads of my own age, which always 
seemed to amuse the chief. I could throw the boys, 
as a rule, but as their hides were well greased I never 
could hold them. Washakie taught me to shoot with 
bow and arrow, and to use the lasso, and as soon as 
we started put his squaws to work making buckskin 
clothing for me. These garments fitted me well 
enough, and were things of beauty, with their fringe 
and beads. 

One incident of this visit I recall vividly. We 
were camped near the river, where the willows grew 
plentifully, and, for want of something better to do, 
I cut one of these and made a whistle. When I 
walked in among the warriors and gave a sharp blast 
on my whistle there was a scattering and seizing of 
arms that caused me some uneasiness. Not one of the 
tribe had ever seen such a thing, and during the next 
two days I was kept busy whittling out whistles. It 
was a curious sight to see grown men, and women, 
too, for that matter, walking about, solemnly tooting 
on a willow whistle. 

At the time promised I was back at the ferry, and 
found my party waiting — not so much for me, because 
I found afterward that they all believed that I was 
gone for good, but to accumulate force enough to face 
the Bannocks, who were in ugly mood over the loss 
of their horses. Before we reached the ferry Washakie 
had a long talk with me, in which he pointed out the 
3 23 



A Sailors Log" 

advantages that would come to me if I would let him 
adopt mc — the ponies I w^ould own, and that I might 
some day even have one of his daughters for my wife; 
but Indian life had Jess charm for me the more I saw 
^of it. I thanked him as best I could, and was very 
glad when we had put the river and many miles of 
prairie between us and my Snake friends. The pres- 
ents he gave me — bows and arrows, pipes, and buck- 
skin clothing — I carried to Salt Lake City, and some 
of them eventually back to Washington. 



24 



CHAPTER III 

IN THE MORMON COUNTRY 

After crossing Green River our course lay along 
Ham's Fork in the direction of South Pass, the high- 
est point of the Rocky Mountains we had to cross. We 
passed the wreck of the supply trains of our army 
burned by the Mormons in 1857. The wagons had 
been drawn up in a circle and there burned — the circle 
still showing, and dotted here and there with tires and 
such ironwork as the Indians had not cared to carry 
away. At one place we struck alkali dust, and as soon 
as our water gave out we found ourselves and our ani- 
mals in pitiable condition. Our lips and eyes grew 
sore, and our tongues swelled until we could scarcely 
talk. After we had passed the dangerous place we 
came upon an emigrant who had a barrel of whisky in 
the tail of his wagon. There was no spigot in it, and he 
refused to put one in, but after a long, wordy contest 
he agreed that he would bore a gimlet hole in the 
barrel, each man should select a straw, and for two 
bits he could suck all the whisky he wanted without 
drawing breath. They selected straws very carefully, 
and I remember how each man held on until he was 
blue in the face before admitting that his drink was 
done. 

25 



A Sailor's Log 

On entering South Pass -tve camped at Pacific 
Spring and made ourselves comfortable, as there was 
no longer fear of trouble with the Indians, and our 
animals needed rest and grass. The spring covered 
a space of forty by thirty feet, and the water bubbled 
up cold and clear as crystal and ran toward the Pacific 
— hence its name. A few doves or wild pigeons were 
feeding about the camp. The guide bet me that I 
could not kill one with my rifie, and this led to my 
killing my first elk. I was anxious to win the bet, and 
was following the bird as he fiew about on the trees 
to make sure of a fair shot. In this way I wandered 
off from the trail into the thick cover on the side of 
the pass, and was about to fire at the pigeon, when I 
heard a breaking of twigs near me, but above me, on 
the mountain. IMy first idea was Indians, and, stand- 
ing perfectly still in my tracks, I took a quiet look. 
Within thirty yards of me was a magnificent animal 
looking straight at me, his head and antlers only show- 
ing through the thick cover. I raised the gun to my 
shoulder very quietly, and, taking good aim at a spot 
between his eyes, fired. He made a great bound down 
the side of the mountain in my direction, and at the 
same moment I started for camp as fast as my legs 
could carry me, and did not stop until I got there. 
Bromley asked me if I had killed the bird, to which I 
replied that I had not, but T believed I had killed the 
father of all deer. Up to that time I had never seen 
an elk. When we reached the spot we found a beauti- 
ful specimen, with grand antlers, with a bullet fairly 
through his 1)rain. I had killed him stone dead, and 
he had slid almost to where I stood when I fired. The 

26 



A Mormon Train 

bet was called off, and removing the head, we skinned 
the game, and the entire party had all the meat they 
wanted for several days. 

Afterward we saw immense herds of elk, many 
thousands in a herd, and we had no trouble in killing 
them whenever we chose. We also saw and killed a 
number of mountain sheep, a very curious animal with 
enormously large horns. The guide told marvellous 
stories of their jumping down great distances, land- 
ing on their horns, which might, for all I know, have 
been true; but I never saw one of them do it. They 
were wary and hard to get at, as compared with other 
kinds of game, and I never saw much of them — only 
for a moment before I fired, and then the sheep was 
either dead or off out of sight like a flash. 

After leaving South Pass we fell in with a Mormon 
train, consisting mostly of women from Wales, bound 
for Salt Lake City. These people, who seemed a de- 
cent lot, had few large wagons, but appeared to depend 
for transportation on a species of handcart, which con- 
tained their belongings and were pushed along by the 
women. A few wagons carried the provisions, and 
these were looked after by the dozen or so men of the 
party. All the work was done by the women, which 
was a foretaste of what their lot was to be after arriv- 
ing at their destination. 

In the forenoon of a beautiful day we had our first 
view of Salt Lake City as we slowly wound our way 
down Echo Caiion. The mountains rose to a great 
height on either side, and were still surmounted by 
the low stone breastworks thrown up by the Mor- 
mons to oppose the entry of United States troops two 

27 



A Sailor's Log 

years before. Through the canon ran a small but 
swift stream, and upon this the beavers were industri- 
ously building their dams, some of which were really 
works of art. These curious beasts were to be seen in 
hundreds — some cutting the logs for the dams, and 
others using their curious flat tails as trowels to ce- 
ment the face of the dam with mud. Many of the dams 
had been cut in order to make the road available, but, 
when left to themselves, the beavers soon had them 
repaired. The beavers have disappeared, as have the 
buffalo and other large game of the West, but in their 
case the excuse can be made that the fur was used to 
some good purpose; in the case of the big game no 
such excuse can be offered: it was in a great measure 
simply senseless, brutal killing for the sake of killing. 

My first impressions of the city and Salt Lake Val- 
ley, with Great Salt Lake lying blue in the distance, were 
very pleasing, and a closer inspection did not change 
them. The city was beautifully laid out, and the 
houses were generally of a character to indicate com- 
fort, and often wealth and refinement. The water from 
a rushing mountain stream had been introduced, and, 
besides answering for household purposes, it ran 
through the gutters on both sides of the principal 
streets, thus insuring cleanliness and good sewerage. 
Many of the houses had gardens about them filled with 
vegetables, and the most delicious small fruits. The 
residences of Brigham Young — he had two — were 
beautifully constructed and surrounded by elaborate 
flower gardens, which were kept in the most perfect 
order. 

I made my home while in the city with the family 
28 



A Surprising Shot 

of Mr. Hooper, who was a Mormon, though not a 
polygamist. They, as well as the people generally 
whom I met, were kindly and courteous, and did all 
in their power to make my stay among them agree- 
able. Mrs. Hooper was worried for fear that I might 
be converted to Mormonism without the knowledge 
or consent of my parents, but I assured her that I felt 
myself strong enough to stand any amount of tempta- 
tion in that line, and that I really was not in the least 
danger. 

I had command of plenty of horses, and amused 
myself by making excursions to Camp Floyd, or Salt 
Lake, or other attractive places. Frequently I went 
to the country for a day's shooting, and as game of 
all kinds was plentiful I made very good bags. One 
day, when I had wandered rather too far into the thick 
woods on the side of the mountain, I had an exciting 
experience. I had dismounted from my horse and was 
advancing slowly and quietly through the thick cover, 
which was so dense that the sunlight was almost shut 
out, when I saw some distance ahead of me a curious 
black object. After watching it for some time with- 
out being able to make out what it was I gave it one 
load of No. 4 shot to see what would happen. I 
was thoroughly surprised at the result. It proved to 
be a Digger Indian, with a large black felt hat on 
his head, digging roots. As he straightened himself 
up he seemed to me ten feet tall, and I lost no time in 
mounting my pony; neither did he in mounting his. 
There was no time to explain matters, and I bolted 
down the mountain road with the Digger in hot chase. 
He occasionally sent an arrow over me, and generally 

29 



A Sailor's Log 

behaved in a way to hasten me into town in the short- 
est possible time. As I reached tiie front gate of Mr. 
Hooper's house the Indian pulled up about three hun- 
dred yards away and sat on his pony, waiting appar- 
ently to see what would happen next. He only 
waited a few seconds when I appeared with my Colt's 
rifle, and then we had a spirited race for the moun- 
tains, only in this case I was the pursuer, and I surely 
put him to his best speed to escape. I was more care- 
ful after that how I shot at things until I could make 
out what they were. 

As a rule, the city was orderly and peaceful. At 
times the Indians would come in in considerable num- 
bers, and, having filled up with whisky, would proceed 
to make themselves disagreeable by shooting arrows 
at people, and misbehaving in other ways. When 
they got too bad, word would be sent out to 
Camp Floyd, and the soldiers would come in and run 
them out of town — generally killing a few. On one 
of these occasions I was sitting on the front porch 
reading a newspaper, when suddenly an arrow drove 
into the weather-boarding very close to me, and before 
I could move, a second one came and caught me in the 
shin bone. My double-barrelled shotgun was in the 
hall near by, and as I came out with it I discovered a 
half-drunken Digger standing in the middle of the 
street, laughing at the joke he had perpetrated on me. 
I don't think he enjoyed the rest of the afternoon 
much, as the men in the drug store at the corner had 
him laid on his back while they picked shot out of him 
until after dark. The next time I saw my friend he 
looked as if he had had the smallpox. I presented him 

30 



Brigham Young 

with five pounds of brown sugar, and watched with 
interest while he sat on the pavement and ate the 
whole of it. 

As I was to represent Utah in the navy, I felt it 
my duty to call on Mr. Young, and at the same time 
I hesitated to do so, because a pony-express horse, 
which I had borrowed for a ride on the Fourth of July, 
had run away with me, and before I could stop him 
had seriously damaged some beautiful flower beds in 
Mr. Young's yard. However, I did call, and found the 
Mormon leader a rugged, hard-looking man, but 
withal kindly in his manner and good enough to wish 
me success in the profession I had selected. Without 
entering into the question of how far he was right 
in what he had done and was then doing — questions 
now forever settled by the laws of the land — we must 
admit that Mr, Young was a man of wonderful ability 
and a natural leader of men. Otherwise he could never 
have led his people through the tremendous dilSculties 
they encountered, and then made of the desert a flow- 
ering garden. 

When I had been sufficiently long in Utah to claim 
residence I began preparations for my return journey. 
The call of the sea was strong upon me, and I could 
not resist it even had I wished to do so, which I cer- 
tainly did not. The sea and the ships were constantly 
in my mind, and I was anxious to begin. I secured a 
seat on the overland coach and left for the East about 
the middle of July, i860. 

We had a pleasant trip, all things considered. Rid- 
ing on top of a coach is well enough in the daytime, 
but not so pleasant at night. I was small for my age, 

31 



A Sailor's Log 

and soon found a way of stowing myself so that I could 
sleep with a fair amount of comfort. But when it 
rained, which it often did at night, I was most uncom- 
fortable. The choice was between getting wet or be- 
ing smothered under blankets — and I generally got 
wet. The coach stations were reasonably close to each 
other, and we made good speed all the way. As soon 
as we arrived at one of these stations all hands went 
for food — generally very poor — and when that was 
finished, six wild, kicking, bucking mules were hitched 
up, and away we went at a full run. The drivers were 
experts in their line, and the mules usually ran four 
or five miles before they were pulled down to their 
regular paces. After that, woe to the unfortunate 
mule that tried to shirk his fair share of the work! 

The party was well armed and thoroughly able to 
stand off any small band of Indians; but the red men 
as a rule seemed to fancy the emigrant trains rather 
than the coaches, and we escaped without serious 
molestation. During the time we were on the South 
Platte we had one or tw-o very severe hailstorms, 
^vhich for a time threatened to destroy the whole out- 
fit. When they struck us, usually accompanied by a 
hard gale of wind, the mules backed up under the lee 
of the coach, and no amount of beating would induce 
them to move until the storm had ])asscd; then they 
would go on as cheerfully as before, the driver launch- 
ing at them such a volley of oaths and abuse as could 
come only from the driver of an overland coach. No 
other human being could match him. The passengers 
during these storms found shelter as they could, either 
in or under the coach, or among the mules. At times 

32 



A Prairie Storm 

the hail covered the prairies as far as one could see to 
a depth of two or three inches. Some of the hail- 
stones were large enough to disable a man if they 
struck him on the head. 

While we were resting at Mayersville, Kansas, we 
experienced a wind storm which lingers in my mind, 
although I have since seen storms of about all kinds 
and sizes. It came up very suddenly, and we at first 
took refuge in a long, narrow frame building used 
as a storehouse. The wind struck this house end on 
and soon lifted one end a foot or so from the ground. 
We then retreated behind a stone wall, but the stones 
began to fly from the top, and we concluded to follow 
the example of some of the natives and go out on the 
open prairie, lie down flat on our faces, head to wind, 
and hold on to the grass as best we could. In this 
position each one soon had a considerable sand shoal 
about him. There were several emigrant trains and a 
band of Indians camped on the prairie, and these were 
soon off before the wind as fast as they could go. The 
" prairie schooners," as the wagons were called, would 
run some distance before the wind, and then, as 
they got canted one way or the other, would cap- 
size and spill out women and children and whatever 
else happened to be in them. The last we saw of the 
Indians, as they disappeared in the clouds of sand and 
gravel, the men were riding their ponies, shouting and 
yelling, and the squaws doing what they could to save 
their belongings. A few days after this we crossed the 
Missouri River, I found myself again in civilization, 
and I was soon on a train bound for Washington, 
where I arrived late in August. 

33 



A Sailor's Log 

On September 15th I went to Annapolis, passed my 
examination, and, after a few days' leave, reported Sep- 
tember 20th on board the frigate Constitution as an 
acting midshipman. 

I have so far picked the oakum, now let me spin 
my yarn of forty years of naval life. 



34 



CHAPTER IV 

A CADET AT ANNAPOLIS 

I PASSED my entrance examination to the Naval 
Academy September 15, i860, and reported, as an act- 
ing midshipman, as I have before stated, on board the 
frigate Constitution — " Old Ironsides " — on the 20th 
of the same month. The examination, fortunately for 
many of us, was a very simple one; nothing like the 
elaborate and trying affair of to-day, otherwise many 
of us would not have followed the navy as a profession. 
The candidate had to be sound physically, and have a 
fair foundation on which to build the education re- 
quired of a sea officer, v'ho was not in that day ex-, 
pected to be an engineer, a chemist, a scientist, an elecJ 
trician, a lawyer, an artist, etc., as is the case to-day — 
only a seaman and a gunner, with the necessary knowl-^ 
edge of things that pertained to the sea. The super- 
intendent. Captain George S. Blake, was assisted by 
half a dozen officers, selected for their fitness, and as 
many civil professors. Among the of^cers were two 
brothers, C. R. P. and George Rodgers, lieutenants, 
both of whom made their mark on the service, and 
wrote their names high up on the history of the navy 
which they loved so well and did so much to honour. 
We have never had two officers whose standard of 

35 



A Sailor's Log 

honour and duty was liiglier or whose conduct re- 
flected greater credit on the country than that of those 
two. C. R. P. Rodgers was commandant of midship- 
men and George Rodgers was captain of the Consti- \/ 
tution, and to them I owe everything in my profes- 
sional Hfe. 

We had one hundred and twenty-seven men in the 
class when we settled down to work, an average lot, 
from all parts of the country, and representing the 
various classes of American life — North, South, East, 
and West. I was the only one from Utah, and I be- 
lieve the first one ever appointed from that Territory 
either in the navy or the army. Our life on board ship 
was pleasant and novel, and our education on the lines 
that would fit us for the duties we would in the future 
have to perform. English studies occupied a consid- 
erable part of our time, but practical seamanship and 
gunnery were considered the important things, and 
they were hammered into us so hard by our honoured 
captain that we had to learn them in spite of ourselves. 
Many showed wonderful cleverness, and after a few 
months the class standing in seamanship placed the 
men about as they have since stood in the service. 

The Constitution was moored at the end of a 
long, narrow wharf, which was the only means of 
approach unless by boat, so that the class was com- 
pletely isolated from the older classes. We never 
came in contact with them except when on shore for 
drill, or on Saturday, when we passed their quarters on 
our way to the town on liberty. All our recitations 
and most of our drills took place on board ship. Un- V 
der such conditions the disgraceful hazing, which later 

36 



Hazing at Annapolis 

on gave the Naval Academy such a bad name, was 
impossible, even had the temper of the midshipmen 
been such as to tolerate it. At the time of which I am 
writing hazing was absolutely unknown, and I am sure 
that any attempt to practise it would have led to a 
duel behind old Fort Severn. It was not until we 
reached Newport, and the senior classes had been or- 
dered into service, that this brutal, and I must say 
cowardly, practice took root and grew until it was a 
disgrace to all those engaged in it. By some means 
the classes entering after 1862 got the idea from West 
Point, and in their zeal to emulate really went far be- 
yond the practices of that excellent institution, where 
hazing of a certain kind was a tradition, and consid- 
ered necessary to the discipline of the cadets among 
themselves. With us the proper class distinctions and 
respect were traditions which did not require hazing 
to enforce them. I remember very well, one Saturday 
afternoon, two of us, both very small, were passing 
the quarters of the first class on our way to town on 
liberty, when two seniors thought it would be good 
fun to put us down on the grass and sit on us. They 
promptly carried out their plan, and sat on us five 
minutes or so and then let us go. We returned to the 
ship mad all over, and in a few minutes we swarmed 
back with most of our class, and there was a beautiful 
fight which resulted in many black eyes and the de- 
struction of much furniture in the first-class quarters. 
This was about the nearest approach to hazing we 
ever had. 

The discipline was strict on board ship from the 
start, and we were expected to observe the regulations 

37 



y 



A Sailor's Log 

as soon as they had been made clear to us. I had 
formed a warm friendship for a young fellow from Mis- 
sissippi named Baldwin, and he somehow became in- 
volved in a quarrel with a man twice his size; the 
quarrel soon led to a fight, and the large man at- 
tempted to strike Baldwin with a camp stool, when I 
grabbed him from behind, preventing the blow, and 
thus myself became part of the row. The next morn- 
ing I was sent for on the quarter-deck, and, after hav- 
ing the Articles of War read to me and receiving a 
long lecture on the enormity of my offence, was locked 
up in a dark room in the wardroom. Some one had 
reported that Baldwin had a knife in his hand during 
the fight, and that I called out to him to use it and 
that I would help him. After being locked up I made 
up my mind that my time had come, in view of the 
many offences mentioned in the Articles of War for 
which the punishment was " death or such other pun- 
ishment as a court martial may inflict." I wrote a 
hurried note to my uncle in Washington to come at 
once if he wished to see me alive, as I was sure that I 
was soon to be hanged at the yardarm. He answered 
that discipline was good for me, and that he would 
wait a few days, or until sentence was pronounced. 
After three days' confinement I was sent for by the 
commanding officer, and told him exactly how I be- 
came involved in the fight, when I was at once sent 
to duty, and some one else took my dark room. 

On board ship we had our hammocks to sleep in 
instead of bunks, and our messing was regulated just 
as it would have been on a cruising vessel. In fact, 
we lived under service conditions; and while it is now 

38 



A Time of Anxiety 

the fashion to decry such training in favour of bar- 
racks on shore, I have yet to be convinced that for 
the conditions then existing it was not the best. 
Many officers of that school have achieved great suc- 
cess both afloat and ashore, and have certainly met all 
the requirements of the service as fully as those of the 
new school can ever meet the requirements that will 
face them. Our first impressions of the service were 
received on board ship, and the discomforts of ship life 
were met and overcome in a way that made such dis- 
comforts and even much greater ones seem very trivial 
afterward. We grew into ship life gradually and natu- 
rally, and our knowledge of the ship and all her parts 
was complete; such knowledge can be acquired in no 
other way, and while many able officers hold that this 
is not a matter of importance on this point, I have 
also still to be convinced of the soundness of their 
reasoning. 

During the winter of i86o-'6i the anxious faces 
of our officers foretold the storm of war that broke 
so suddenly in April of the latter year. It was a time 
of great suspense for all hands; naturally the greatest 
strain came on those in authority, but the midshipmen 
had their loads to bear as well. Many of us came from 
the South, and as the States one after another either 
seceded or threatened to do so, we had to make up 
our minds what we were going to do. Conferences 
were frequent and serious, but never in one of them 
was there a disloyal word uttered. Every man fol- 
lowed the example set by the Southern men among 
the officers. So long as we were inside the academy 
limits, or until our resignations were accepted, we were 
4 39 



A Sailor's Log 

officers of the navy and would behave as such. Lieu- 
tenant Hunter Davidson, afterward the torpedo expert 
of the Confederacy, was probably more responsible for 
this position than any other man, though both C. R. P. 
and George Rodgers were constantly giving us good 
advice. 

During the month of April, 1861, our studies 
were practically suspended, and preparations were 
made to defend the academy and the ship Constitu- 
tion in case of attack. Drills were constant, and every 
precaution taken to give the enemy a warm reception 
in case he came. A Confederate cavalry company 
was organized on the north bank of the Severn River, 
and for several days they drilled in plain sight of the 
ship; but when a few boats were sent after them they 
disappeared, and the next soldiers we saw wore blue 
uniforms. We had been told that the Confederates 
in Baltimore had organized an expedition and were 
coming down in steamers to capture us. A bright 
lookout was kept for them, and one dark night, 
about two o'clock in the morning, the lookout re- 
ported a large steamer coming in from the bay. Gen- 
eral quarters were sounded, and in a few minutes we 
were ready; and there we stood waiting for the word 
to fire. The cabin bulkheads had all been taken down, 
and four thirty-two pounders run out the cabin stern 
ports and loaded with grape and canister. 

The steamer slowly came on until she could be 
plainly seen with the naked eye moving up directly 
astern of us, as if to avoid our broadside and carry us 
by boarding. Captain Rodgers's clear voice rang out: 
" Ship ahoy! What ship is that? " The gun captains 

40 



A Narrow Escape 

had the guns trained on the mass of men we could now 
see crowded about the decks and not more than three 
hundred yards away. Twice more the clear voice rang 
out: " Ship ahoy! keep off, or I will sink you! " and 
then a voice we all recognised answered: " For God's 
sake, don't fire! We are friends!" It was the voice 
of our chaplain, who had been North on a short leave, 
and on his return found Colonel B. F. Butler and the 
Eighth Massachusetts Regiment at Havre de Grace, 
Maryland, blocked in their effort to reach Wash- 
ington. 

Colonel Butler had seized the ferry steamer Mary- 
land, and, embarking his regiment on board of her, 
sailed for Annapolis, fortunately bringing with him 
our chaplain — I say fortunately, because he seemed 
the only one on board who knew enough to answer 
the hail from the Constitution, and in a few seconds 
more we should have opened fire, and no one can 
doubt what the result would have been. The splen- 
did record of this fine regiment would never have been 
written; it would have ended there and then, and 
what one may fairly call the variegated career of Gen- 
eral Benjamin F. Butler would have been very short 
and inglorious. 

As soon as the character of the strange craft was 
satisfactorily established, she was directed to haul up 
alongside of us, which she did, and remained there 
until daylight, when the midshipmen were landed un- 
der arms, formed with those on shore and marched to 
the wall in the vicinity of the gate leading to the town 
of Annapolis, and there deployed in line of battle to 
cover the landing of the Eighth Massachusetts. We 

41 



A Sailor's Log 

stood in this position until the last soldier was ashore 
and the regiment had formed line in rear of the mid- 
shipmen's quarters and stacked their arms, when sen- 
tries from our battalion were posted and the rest of 
us returned to our quarters. Not a shot had been 
fired by either side, though the excitement was in- 
tense, and there was a readiness on both sides to fight. 
Both parties hesitated to fire the first shot, and the 
Confederates contented themselves with pitching 
stones over the wall, which we caught and tossed back. 
The newspapers gave graphic accounts of how Butler 
and his men had recaptured the Constitution and the 
Naval Academy! They never fired a shot nor saw a 
rebel to shoot at. The magazines of the Constitution 
were mined, and she and her crew would have been 
blown to atoms before surrendering if the rebels had 
attacked her. 

Everything was now made ready as soon as pos- 
sible, and the ship hauled out into the bay and pre- 
pared to transport us to some Northern port. The 
midshipmen on shore gave up their quarters to the 
officers of the Seventh New York Infantry and the First 
Rhode Island Artillery under Colonel Burnside, these 
regiments having arrived immediately after the Eighth 
Massachusetts. Our routine was entirely broken up, 
and our time given to guard and picket duty, until all 
preparations had been made for our trip North, when 
orders were given to assemble ready for embarkation. 
Then followed a scene which those who participated in 
it can never forget or recall without a tendency to 
moist eyes. The good fellows from the South who 
had determined to go with their States said good-bye 

42 



On the Constitution 

to their classmates, and as the rest of us formed ranks 
to embark, Captain C. R. P. Rodgers stepped out to 
say a few words to us before leaving the dear old 
Alma Mater. After a strong effort he managed to say, 
"My boys, stand by the old flag!" and then broke 
down. We were all in tears, and only braced up when 
we heard the men of the Seventh New York cheering 
us, which we returned in a feeble sort of way — scram- 
bled into the boats, and two hours later were once 
more on board " Old Ironsides." That was the last 
we saw of the Naval Academy at Annapolis until after 
the civil war had done its work. The army took pos- 
session, repaired the railroad and locomotives, and 
after a month or so of hard work reopened communi- 
cation with Washington. 

The Constitution was towed to New York, from 
there to Newport, Rhode Island, where she was an- 
chored in Brinton's Cove, off Fort Adams, and all the 
senior classes were ordered into active service. My 
class, now about seventy strong, was the only one 
left, and we were anxious, of course, to join the 
others; but we had not yet suiificiently advanced to 
make us of much value. Once more we settled down 
to routine and hard work. Fort Adams was unoccu- 
pied, so we were transferred there, where we could 
have roomy quarters and convenient recitation rooms, 
and at the same time man the guns in case of need. 
It was all a lark to most of us, and the time given to 
study did not amount to much. The officers soon 
found that, if we were to do any serious work, proper 
quarters would have to be provided; and as the idea 
of a return to Annapolis was abandoned, the Atlantic 

43 



A Sailor's Loe 



£> 



Hotel, in the licart of Newport, was secured on long 
lease, duly fitted for our accommodation, and there we 
were marched, bag and baggage. 

In the meantime, steps were taken to quarter the 
new class, a very large one, which had been appointed. 
The Constitution and the Santee, which had been sent 
North for the purpose, had been moored at suitable 
docks built on the inside of Goat Island in the inner 
harbour, and the sloops of war John Adams and Marion 
were anchored near them, to be used for practical sea- 
manship and gunnery drills afloat. This made the most 
complete outfit in ships the Naval Academy had ever 
seen and the most useful. 

That master of his trade. Stephen B. Luce, had 
charge of drills afloat, and scarcely a day passed that 
we were not under his watchful eyes at some sort of 
practical seamanship. Every Saturday we went out- 
side in one or other or both of the ships, and then the 
work was most thorough and complete, each midship- 
man in turn taking charge of the deck for different 
evolutions. On our way in, in the afternoon, we could 
generally tell when our work had been satisfactory; 
if it had not been, the ship was sure to fetch up 
hard and fast before wc reached our anchorage, an- 
chors carried out, and the vessel hove off, properly 
berthed and everything made snug and shipshape, 
before we could leave her. For all this work we had 
only midshipmen — no man to help us. Everything 
must be done with our own hands, and thus we 
learned, and learned thoroughly, what a man had to 
do in every position on board a sailing ship, from pass- 
ing a close reef to sweeping down the quarter-deck. 

44 



Loss of Discipline 

We learned how to do it ourselves, and how to make 
others do it under our instruction, and many of us still 
cling to the notion that there could not have been 
better training. If the weather happened to be such 
that we could not get under way, we sent down yards, 
masts, and rigging, and proceeded to refit everything. 
Before the year was out there were very few in the 
class who could not, with their own hands, do any 
job of work required of a petty of^cer or seaman. 

The quartering of the senior class on shore and all 
the others on board ship had a very bad effect, and 
it was years before the academy recovered its normal 
condition. All the traditions of the school, the dis- 
cipline among the classes themselves — which was, and 
always must be, dependent on traditions and customs 
— were lost sight of, and, as I have before said, hazing 
took root on board the Constitution and Santee. It 
took twenty years to break up this unnaval practice, 
and even now it occasionally shows its ugly head, 
generally with the result that some promising young- 
ster has to be dismissed and thus lost to the service. 



45 



CHAPTER V 

THE EARLY DAYS OF THE WAR 

As soon as war was an assured tiling, my family 
demanded that I should resign, come South and fight 
for my State; but it did not seem to me that this 
course was imperative. j\Iy next younger brother en- 
listed at the age of fourteen in the Washington Artil- 
lery, and went to the front under Pelham; so that 
K there was one member of the family on each side, 
which was a fair division if he saw his duty in that 
way. I was much assisted in these dark and trying 
days by the advice of Captain Rodgers, who pointed 
out to me very clearly what my duty was. I con- 
cluded to stick by " The Old Flag," and let my family 
^ ties look after themselves, and so informed my mother, 
who was much grieved and shamed by my determina- 
tion. She finally wrote my resignation, sent it to the 
Navy Department, where it was accepted, and with- 
out previous warning I found myself out of the serv- 
ice, despite my determination to stay in. 

What to do under such conditions was a serious 
question to me. and I was again assisted to the right 
course by Captain Rodgers. who telegraphed to Wash- 
ington, explaining matters. I was out only about 
twcntv-four hours, but thcv were very unhappy ones 

46 



A Divided Family 

for me, and I was relieved when my reappointment came 
by wire. My mother, thinking she had finally disposed 
of the matter, went to Richmond to nurse my brother, 
who had been badly wounded, and there waited for me 
to join her. She was naturally much disappointed at 
the result of her efforts, and wrote me a very severe 
letter, which she sent through the lines by a blockade 
runner, who mailed it. When it came to me it showed 
no signs of having been opened, but I found that it 
had, and many parts of it underlined with blue pencil. 
Many of my letters during the war mailed in the same 
way had been similarly treated, showing that in my 
case at least the post-office officials had their eyes 
on me. 

My brother fought gallantly, was twice wounded, 
and served to the end of the war. As soon as he could 
make his way North he came, and never showed any 
bitterness over my course. The other members of my 
family did not behave in quite the same way, but after' 
some years my mother changed her views, and fully 
forgave me before she died. 

In June, 1862, we started on our first real practice 
cruise, using for the purpose the sloop of war John 
Adams. We were crowded into her like sardines in 
a box, and had no end of hard work, with whatever 
we could find to eat, and all in all about as little com- 
fort as a set of youngsters ever experienced; but we 
made great headway in learning our business as sea- 
men. The ship was uncomfortable, as all her class 
were, but at the same time seaworthy and safe. She 
would run well when off the wind, but with everything 
braced sharp up when there was any sea on she would 

47 



A Sailor's Loe 



& 



butt tlircc times at a sea and then go round it. Be- 
fore the wind she rolled so that all hands had trouble 
in sleeping at night; but with all her defects she car- 
ried us safely as far south as Port Royal, South Caro- 
lina, and brought us safely back to Newport. 

On our way South we stopped a few^ days at Hamp- 
ton Roads and Yorktown, w here we had a chance to see 
the effects of the war. At Yorktown, particularly, we 
were much interested. The rebel General Magruder 
had just evacuated the place, and was retreating up 
the peninsula, closely followed by the army under Gen- 
eral George B. McClellan. The wells had all been 
poisoned, and the roads in many places mined and 
torpedoes planted, so that we had to be very careful 
• where we went and what we did. However, midship- 
men are notoriously hard to kill, and with the assist- 
ance of the cavalry escort \vhich was kindly furnished 
us, we managed to escape without damage except by 
falls from the cavalry horses, which all hands seemed 
determined to ride. Horseback riding was not a 
novelty to me, and I contented myself with going as 
quietly as I could in a wagon. 

At Port Royal we saw Admiral Dupont's splendid 
fleet, comprising many of the finest ships in the navy, 
fresh from their encounter with and complete victory 
over the rebel forts. Among them all, the Wabash 
seemed to me the most perfect; she flew the admiral's 
flag, and on board of her I had the pleasure of again 
meeting Captain C. R. P. Rodgers, who was fleet cap- 
tain to Admiral Dupont. 
>j I shall always remember an incident of my visit to 
this ship. As we went over the side, a large black 

48 



A Middy's Experience 

bear stood on his hind legs at the gangway, among 
the side boys, hat in hand, and sahiting each officer 
as he went on board. I saw him as 1 came up the 
side, and not proposing to give him a chance at me, 
jumped for the main chains and went over that way, 
much to the amusement of the officers. A short time 
after this his bearship came to grief, and had to be 
sent on shore. He was very fond of alcohol, and, hav- 
ing filled up and become ugly, turned into the bunk of 
one of the lieutenants, who, finding his bed occu- j 
pied, turned in somewhere else until his time came for ' 
duty. The quartermaster being sent down during the 
night to call the lieutenant, and getting no answer, 
undertook to awake him by shaking him, which so en- 
raged the bear, in his half-drunken condition, that he 
bit the quartermaster so badly that he lost one of 
his legs. 

During this cruise the midshipmen were stationed 
as a crew for the vessel, and did all the work of the 
different ratings. When off Ilatteras on our way 
North our efficiency was thoroughly tested. At 
about ten o'clock the ship was struck by a sudden 
heavy squall, accompanied by rain and hail. All hands 
were called to reef topsails, the watch on deck having 
successfully handled the light sails. We were close 
enough to the Diamond Shoal to make haste a matter 
of importance, and the officers hustled us up with- 
out much ceremony. The topsails were quickly reefed, 
\y and I had just secured the lee earing on the main 
topsail yard when I heard the order, " Hoist away the 
topsails! " I was straddling the yard at the time, and 
just about to swing to the foot rope and lay down 

49 



A Sailor's Log 

from aloft; but I changed my mind very suddenly, and 
instead hugged that topsail yard until I am sure you 
could have found the marks of my arms on the paint. 
It was as black as a pocket, raining in torrents, and as 
the yards were braced up the topsails filled and the 
ship made a butt at a heavy sea. I thought my time 
had come. I reached the deck, however, in safety, 
only to be properly dressed down by the ofBcer of the 
deck for being slow in laying down from aloft! We 
were back at Newport again in September, better for 
our work, and ready to enjoy the short leave that was 
then given us. 

iMy family had all gone South, and it was a ques- 
tion what I should do with myself; but as my uncle's 
house in Washington was in charge of a housekeeper, 
I concluded to spend my time there, which I did very 
pleasantly. The good woman who had charge of the 
house called me one night to inform me that there 
was a burglar in the cellar, and would I put him out? 
I was not anxious for the job, but my position as an 
officer forbade my declining; so with a small revolver 
in one hand and a lighted candle in the other I sought 
the burglar in the coal cellar. I had hardly entered 
the passageway leading past the door of the room in 
which he was located when a large chunk of coal 
whizzed past my head, and very close to it. I dropped 
the candle, which fortunately went out, putting us on 
more even terms, and after ten minutes I turned my 
man over to the police with a bullet through his thigh. 
I learned that night not to hunt burglars with a lighted 
candle; experience sometimes teaches things in a very 
forcible way. 

50 



My Rebel Brother 

During this leave I had a curious meeting with my 
rebel brother, whose command was operating on the 
Virginia side of the Potomac, a few miles away. I 
went one evening to an oyster house with a friend to 
eat some raw oysters. The place was one that all of 
us had known and frequented for years. As I entered 
the door I observed a tall, handsome young fellow 
who was finishing what he had ordered, and at the 
same moment I saw him give me a quick glance of 
recognition. He drank up his glass of beer, and then 
walked briskly out of the place, while I called for 
oysters on the half shell, and ate them very slowly. 
My brother knew what I would do, and he did not 
hesitate the least bit in his movements; but I had some 
very serious thinking to do while the man opened 
oysters for me, and I must admit that I ate more oys- 
ters than I wanted. 

I could have gone to the exact spot where my 
brother's skiff was hauled out, but I was giving him all 
the time I could to get there ahead of the provost 
guard. Finally, my friend asked me if I were going to 
eat all night, when I paid my shot and we went out to- 
gether. I asked if he had recognised my man; he re- 
plied that he had not, and then asked me in turn what 
I was going to do about it. Before I had time to reply, 
a squad of the provost guard came by, and to the offi- 
cer in charge I reported that there was a rebel officer 
in the city — that I had seen and recognised him, and 
knew him as such. At first he seemed disposed to 
arrest me, but at last concluded to go after the real 
offender. After the war, my brother told me that he 
just managed to escape, and that he had concealed his 

51 



A Sailor's Log 

boat at the spot where I imagined it was. As a result 
of this incident I was twice arrested and taken before 
the provost marshal on suspicion of holding inter- 
course with rebels. The last time 1 told the ofBcer 
confidentially who the man was I had reported, and 
after that I was not annoyed. 

Part of my leave I spent in a trip to the Army of 
the Potomac, to get an idea of how they conducted 
their business. I had a pass, and was described as an 
aid to the wounded. The horse I rode was hired from 
a livery stable, and came near never reaching its owner 
again. I soon saw enough to convince me that the 
army would not suit me; that it was not to be com- 
pared to the navy for comfort or for getting results. 
The army seemed to be continually fighting and killing 
people, without arriving at any satisfactory conclusion 
as to who was whipped, both sides frequently claiming 
the same fight. There was much straggling in the 
rear of the army, and several times on my way back 
to Washington I was asked for my horse, and was once 
shot at because I declined to comply with the request. 
When I finally recrosscd the Long Bridge into Wash- 
ington I made up my mind that I had learned all I 
wanted to know about the army. 

October, 1862, found us all back at Newport, and 
once more settled down to hard work and study. The 
demand for officers was so great that the class was 
divided into two sections, and the instructions ar- 
ranged so that the first section could be graduated in 
the following June. It was not my good fortune to be 
one of this first section; but I lost nothing by this, as 
we shall see later on. 

52 



Under Discipline 

There was in this section, however, one of whom 
we were all very fond — the young Frenchman, Pierre 
d'Orleans, Due de Penthievre, who preferred to ac- 
quire his professional education under American aus- 
pices. He was a fine, manly young fellow, known in 
the class as " Pete," and you might expect to find 
him mixed up in all the class scrapes and troubles. 
I remember him particularly as a cunning hand with 
the small sword, and a generous giver of very good 
French chocolate, an article which he consumed and 
gave away in enormous quantities. 

During the winter of this year I again made ac- 
quaintance with the dark room on board the Consti- 
tution. Two of us were walking about during the 
evening in the park opposite our quarters, when I saw 
a watchman sneaking through the trees to catch some 
fellows who were violating regulations. The chance 
was very tempting, and without waiting to count the 
cost I landed a good-sized stone fairly behind the 
watchman's ear, sending him to the hospital for re- 
pairs. Unfortunately for me, there was a citizen near 
by who gave the commandant so good a description 
of me that I was sent for the next morning, and 
promptly sent on board ship and locked up. This 
was bad enough in all reason, but I soon made it 
much worse. The officer of the day, wishing to 
show proper respect for a senior, smuggled me a 
novel and a candle, and, having arranged my blanket 
so as to shut out curious eyes, I read my novel 
in peace until the sentry, a sailor with a cutlass, 
pried the blanket to one side. I blew the candle out 
at once, and then arranged the spring in the candle- 

53 



A Sailor's Log 

stick so that I could shoot the candle out when 
ready. Then I lighted it again, and taking a posi- 
tion favourable for my purpose, I waited for the 
sailor; and, as he again cautiously pried the blanket 
aside, I fired the candle through the opening. Un- 
fortunately, it struck Jackey in the eye, and thinking 
that his head was shot off he bolted from his station. 
In a short while the commanding officer was on the 
scene, and then an end was put to my sport. I was 
marched out, the room searched, the door boarded up 
solid, and the key again turned on me. This time 
there was not the least semblance of fun about it. For 
two weeks I was kept locked up and then released; 
but for several days I could not do anything, as the 
light hurt my eyes dreadfully. It seemed to require 
a very practical demonstration to convince me that 
I had to do what I was told. This last experience 
went a long way in that direction. 



54 



CHAPTER VI 

FIRST ACTIVE SERVICE 

The first section of the class was graduated in 
June, 1863, and at once ordered into service. The 
second section was distributed among the three prac- 
tice ships, which were to take the junior classes out 
for the summer. I was one of five who were detailed 
as watch officers for the sloop of war Marion, as the 
Navy Department was unable to spare a sufficient 
number of watch officers for all the ships. We had a 
captain, of course, an executive officer, and a navi- 
gator, and five first-class men in the wardroom. Our 
crew consisted entirely of midshipmen, who did all the 
work usually done by sailors, including scrubbing the 
decks and cleaning the ship. We were to cruise along 
the coast, making Newport our headquarters, while the 
other ships went abroad. 

The first night out we were beating clear of 
Block Island. I had the deck, when, at 2 a. m., with 
a good stiff breeze, the captain ordered me to tack 
ship and shorten sail in stays. The helm was put 
down and I was getting on famously, when the quar- 
termaster stepped out from the wheel and reported, 
"Wheel ropes carried away, sir!" In turn, I re- 
ported to the captain, " Wheel ropes are carried 
5 55 



A Sailor's Log 

away, sir!" His reply was, "Well, wheel ropes car- 
ried away, what do you do? " and as far as I could 
see he paid no further attention to me until the ship 
was close hauled on the other tack, with the light sails 
furled. Then, in a quiet, kindly way, he pointed out 
to me where I had been wrong, at the same time com- 
mending my general work. And so it was during the 
entire cruise: every man of us had to rely on himself; 
but at the same time a careful, conscientious officer 
was watching us and correcting us when we went 
wrong. Many officers in the service to-day remember 
gratefully the summer cruise of the Marion, Captain 
E. O. Mathews commanding. 

In the course of the month of July the rebel cruiser 
Florida appeared off the coast, and the merchants 
of the exposed cities cried out for protection. The 
!Marion was sent out, among other ships, to look for the 
privateer — an old-fashioned sailing sloop after a mod- 
ern steam sloop of war! At the same time several ves- 
sels were chartered in New York, guns and men tum- 
bled on board, and sent out to cruise off the coast. 
In one of these I served. 

Captain J. W. A. Nicholson was ordered to com- 
mand a new steamer, the Governor Buckingham, 
built by jMallory. He had only one officer, a volun- 
teer acting ensign, so he applied to Captain Mathews, 
who told him that I could be spared, and could per- 
form the duty of watch officer. The following day 
I received a telegram from the Department appoint- 
ing me an acting lieutenant, and ordering me to 
report to Captain Nicholson for duty, which I did 
at once. The captain seemed somewhat surprised at 

56 



Divided Authority 

my youthful appearance, but nevertheless directed me 
to find a crew for the Buckingham, get the guns on 
board, coal, and prepare for sea, and report to him 
when everything was ready. He was serving as one 
of the officers of the yard at the time. On board the 
receiving ship I was abused by the executive officer 
because I did not have the proper papers from the 
commandant, and cursed all over the quarter-deck and 
into the cabin by the captain, who was a fine old 
seaman, but dreadfully profane. He finally gave me 
thirty men, and surely not the best I ever saw! 

On board the Buckingham I found a very curi- 
ous state of things. The contract read that the mer- 
chant captain, his officers and crew, were to work 
the ship during the daytime under the orders of the 
naval captain, and to feed the ofBcers but not the 
crew. At sundown the navy men were to take charge 
of the ship and do all the night work. The engines 
were to be run by the owners under orders of the naval 
captain, the navy to furnish the coal. For all this the 
Government was to pay one thousand dollars per day. 

As soon as I had my crew on board I hauled the 
ship into the ordnance dock, took on three small guns 
and the necessary ammunition, and at once anchored 
of¥ the yard and began coaling. We had only taken in 
a few bags, when one of the men, a little the worse for 
liquor, concluded that I was neither old enough nor 
large enough to make him work; on the contrary, he 
would show me a thing or two. I landed on top of 
him from the deck above with a heavy brass trumpet, 
and he was convinced of his mistake in less than half 
a minute. I tied him up securely, bandaged his head, 

57 



A Sailor's Lo^r 



:\iul liK'kcd liitn up in a coal bunker. I'.arly I lie next 
(.lay I reptnteil the ship ready, ami thai afternoon we 
sailetl in seaieh ol the I'Unida. Several ehartend ves- 
sels went on the same niissioti about the same tiim-, 
and one of them, the I'aiesson, was fortunate enough 
to siidit the i)iivateer about fifty miles northeast of 
Saiidv Hook. She was also fortunate eiioni;li to v^cl 
away from her when the h'lorida ^ave chase! She 
steamed mneli faster on the trip in than she did l;«^'''.^ 
out. 1 had expeeteil to be punisheil lor my eneonnter 
with the man. but (.'aplain N'ieholson considered the 
jieeuliar circnmstauees muler which I was workiui;. and 
tlismisseil the matter with a caution — not to me. but to 
the man, who afterward prove^l himself a very };ood 
st>rt i>f a chap. 

We ran as far north as Cape Sable with the lUick- 
iu,i;ham. and then cruised slowly back, reacliini>- New 
York safelv after an absence of three weeks, without 
sceinj; the l''lorida. which was no di>ubt fortunate for 
us, as we were not fast enons^h to };et away from her, 
anil eertainlv not stroni; enough to li^lit her. l.nt we 
satistieil the meiehants of New \'oik. and that was 
what it was all almut. I had done the duty of execu- 
tive ollicer, navigator, and watch olVicer, besides drill- 
in*; the men for two hours every day. C'ai)tain Nichol- 
son was ^tH)d enough io conuneiul me for my service. 
Our actini; eusii;ti had been fouiul asleep on watch 
shortly after we sailed, and was not ai;ain put on duty, 
the captain ami I staudim; all the nii^lit watches. One 
part t>f the ci>utract T remember was faithfully carried 
out: I mean the feedini; of the ollicers. I never have 
lived so well at sea since. Every night during the 

5S 



The I'irst Command 

mid v/atch a beautiful lunch v/a'i i-/:rvtd if) the offi- 
cer of the deck, including a U^ttlc of wine if he 
wanted it. 

After the return of the Buckingham I was sent 
back to the Marion, and wa/^ thf::n given command of 
'tl/e yacht America, two guns, and a crew of twenty- 
four midshipmen. In c^/mpany with the Mari^/n v/e 
again tailed in search of the Flori'^la, lyut failed to o^/me 
up v»'ith her. I enjoyed every flay and hour of my hnX 
command, and never missed a cliance to race v/ith any- 
thing, from a <>teamer dov/n to a pilot boat. For v^me 
time I v/as crui>.ing by my:>elf off Cape C>>d and tf>- 
ward the Banks, and while j/j employe^l overhauled an 
English steamer, the skipper of which was not dispos^j^l 
to pay much attention t^j me. Tv/o shells across Ir! - 
bov/ seemed to have no effect, but the third, Vr},:'. j 
landed in his main hatch, l^rought him to very quick- 
ly. On my way back to Newport I sighted a sch'^x^er 
ofiF Nantucket Shoals, and st^xvd tov/ard her. She 
made every eff^/rt to escape, but the wind v/as very 
light, and we slowly fanned up <^/n her quarter. I sav/ 
that she was a whaler homev.ard Ix/und, and the men 
of the crev/ were amusing themselves catching mack- 
ereL I had not, up to this time, shown my colours. 
When I hoisted the flag I hailed, "Schooner ahoy!" 
" Hello!" came back. " ffave you seen anything of 
any j^rates offshore?" " .N'o; l>ein't you a pirate?" 
The captain had mistaken the character of my ship, 
and when he discovered his err«'/r promj/tly sv/ung out 
a b^^t and &ent me a mess of the finest mackerel I 
ever saw. 

We returned to Xev/port late in Septeml/er, and 
Vj 



A Sailor's Log 

\vere rejoiced to find that tlie Navy Department had 
decided to send us into service immediately. Our edu- 
cations were not complete, but we knew enough to 
look out for a ship and stop bullets, which were the 
important things. We were commissioned as acting 
ensigns from October i, 1863. 

After ten days' leave I reported on board the 
United States steamer Powhatan at Philadelphia, 
where she was refitting for service in the West Indies. 
I was at once given a watch and division of guns, and 
two classmates and I composed the watch officers 
of the ship. Captain William Ronckendorf was the 
commanding officer, and it has been truly said of him 
that he could make himself disagreeable in more dif- 
1 ferent ways than any man who ever wore naval uniform. 
I agree perfectly with the man who said it. 

After ten days' hard work we put to sea with a 
fairly good crew and a large complement of officers, 
all anxious for active service. Although we had many 
ofificers, we were kept in three watches, because the 
captain would not trust volunteer officers to take 
the deck. We had seven of these gentlemen, excellent 
men, who had commanded ships, many of them, before 
I was born; but they knew nothing of man-of-war 
routine, and this we had to teach them. Drills were 
constant — forenoon, afternoon, and generally once 
during the night. In addition I was made midship- 
\man of the foretop, and spent a good portion of my 
time aloft instructing the green men of the crew in 
bending and unbending sails, and the thousand and 
one things a topman has to know. Every time the 
men were sent aloft, up I went, day or night, rain or 

60 



Admiral Lardner 

shine. By the time we reached Cape Haytien, which 
was headquarters of the Flying Squadron, to which we 
belonged, I had about concluded that I at least had 
work enough to keep me from rusting out. 

Upon our arrival at Cape Haytien the captain re- 
ported us for duty as flagship of the squadron, and the 
next day we flew the flag of Rear-Admiral James 
Lardner, one of the finest specimens of the old navy. 
He was the very opposite of our captain — a splendid 
seaman, a courteous, kindly gentleman, brave to the 
point of recklessness, an honour to the service, and a 
man under whom all were glad to serve. Tall and 
commanding in figure, with close-cropped, snow-white 
hair and mustache, he looked what he really was, the 
ideal commander. As soon as he came on board many 
of the petty annoyances from which we had suffered 
ceased, and we became contented and happy. It is 
difficult to convince any one to-day of how completely 
the captain ruled things in the time of which I am 
writing. There was no law ofif soundings beyond the 
captain's will, unless you had an admiral on board, 
when his will became the law. Officers could be, and 
to my knowledge were, kept on board for months with- 
out ever being allowed on shore, because the captain 
thought it was better for them! 

Admiral Lardner had some peculiarities which were 
striking; anything that savoured of insubordination or 
disrespect brought the severest punishment, gener- 
ally a tongue-lashing the recipient remembered all his 
life. To a naturally fluent tongue the admiral added 
a vocabulary of oaths so fine that it was musical, and 
when aroused he did not hesitate to speak his mind 

6i 



A Sailor's Log 

in the language all seamen understand. At the same 
time his black eyes shone like fireflies, and his white 
mustache bristled, each hair standing on end. He cer- 
tainly was a darling, and much beloved by all of us. 

When the Rhode Island was his flagship. Captain 
Trenchard, who commanded, had a very accomplished 
steward, a coloured man, who had become so expert in 
catching flies off the captain's bald head that he was 
never annoyed by them. Admiral Lardner had for his 
steward a fine, large, heavy-handed Irishman, who 
watched the coloured man w'ith great envy while his 
master, undisturbed, enjoyed his meals. Pat's master 
thrashed at the flies, and swore roundly as they lighted 
on his close-cropped hair. The coloured man went on 
catching flies with a quick, dexterous movement of his 
right hand until Pat could stand it no longer. Draw- 
ing back, he made a vicious swing at a fly, but, instead 
of catching it, he caught the admiral an awful blow on 
the back of his head. The admiral, thinking there was 
a mutiny, grabbed the carving knife, and made after 
Patrick, who retreated to the spar deck, and there was 
a hurdle race fore and aft — the officer of the deck and 
the orderly trying to catch the admiral, who was doing 
his best to put the carving knife in the back of Pat, 
who finally escaped, but never bothered any more 
about flies on the admiral's head. 

One of the crew of the admiral's barge, a man the 
admiral was very fond of, died, and, as a mark of great 
respect, he went to the grave to see the poor fellow 
buried. The grave diggers had, for some reason, dug 
a very shallow grave, which so incensed the admiral 
that he spoke to them vcrv severclv, and not receiving 

62 



The Flying Squadron 

a satisfactory reply, seized a stick and made after them. 
They ran, but he was too quick for them; he caught 
them and forced them to return, and while we stood 
around waiting, made them dig a proper grave in 
which poor Jack was decently buried. 

The duty of the Flying Squadron was to look after 
the rebel privateers in the West Indies, and see that 
they did not interfere with the Pacific mail steamers 
on their regular trips. In order to do this most 
effectually, some vessel, often the flagship, met the 
steamer at Mariguana Island, and convoyed her clear 
of Navassa, where she was left to depend on her heels 
for safety. The convoying vessel got her mail first, 
and generally a file of late papers from home, so the 
duty was considered choice, and all hands were anxious 
for the job. As soon as the mail steamer was out of 
sight a cruise around the south side of Cuba was in 
order, generally including Havana and Key West, and 
then back to Cape Haytien. 

The vessels of the squadron were kept constantly 
cruising through the Windward Islands and as far 
south as the Spanish Main, and though we used our 
best exertions we never came up with a privateer, be- 
cause none of them visited that part of the world. For 
several months we cruised constantly, disguised as a 
Frenchman, and showing French colours to passing 
vessels, with the idea that we might thus decoy the 
Alabama within range of guns. During a part of this 
time we had yellow fever on board, and to get rid 
of it we steamed out into the trade winds, stopped 
the engines, put the ship under sail, and slowly 
cruised around with the wind abeam, until the fever 

63 



A Sailor's Log 

disappeared. The admiral was very fond of sailing, 
and tliiTc was no end to sail and spar drills. He 

. woukl reef the buckets of our paddle wheels, set stud- 
ding sails on both sides, and run off to leeward, ap- 
parently for the fun of beating back again. 

g Once wc thought we had the Alabama sure. Wc 
were anchoied at Ca|)e ilaytien, when a messenger 
arrived from the consul at St. Nicholas Mole with word 
that the /Mabama was anchorcil in thai harlxnu". Jn a 
few minutes wc were under way, heading to the wcst- 
warrl, all sails set, and using i)ork in our furnaces to get 
all the speed we could out of the old ship. She really 
made- fourteen knots all the way. C)n the way down 
the ship was cleared for action, and every preparation 
made to fight and fight hard, 'ihe admiral did not 
intend that the Alabama should get away from him, as 
she had finm several f)tlu'rs who had sighted her. As 
we a|)proached the har])our pre|)aratious were made for 
anchoring; men were stationed liy both anchors to let 
go when ordered, but the rmchors were lashed so se- 
curely that nothing short of an axe could have got 
them clear. It was the intention, if we found the Ala- 
bama in port, to a]i])roach her at full sj)ee(l, and when 
very close to back the engines and order both anchors 
let go, which failing, she would, of course, be sunk 
in the collision that woiild follow. We stood at our 
stations peering inlo the dark as we tore around the 
harbour at twelve knots, much to the surprise of the 
people on shore, but there was no Alabama. 

\^ The next day wc found that an English sloop of 
war had caused all the trouble. Fortunately for her. 
she had gone out in the afternoon for target prac- 

64 



7 roublcsome Sailors 

tice, and remained outside overnight. If she had been 
anchored inside, nothing could have saved her, as the 
admiral had made up his mind what he was going 
to do, and would not have waited to ask any ques- 
tions. We agreed among ourselves that the captain 
of that ship ought to buy a lottery ticket! 

Our men were kept on board so long, and we were 
so steadily under steam, that they became very irritable 
and ugly. Fights were of daily occurrence, and some 
of them serious. Jf a deck hand interfered in any way 
with a man from the engine room, there was a fight 
on the spot; and even the firemen fought among them- 
selves on the slightest provocation. The heat s€emed 
to make them particularly ugly. Several men lost 
their lives in this way, and the admiral finally went to 
St. Thomas to give shore liberty to the crew. 

When we arrived we found the English Flying 
Squadron in port, but while the feeling against them 
was very bitter, v/e did not consider it a good reason 
why our men should be kept on board; so the starboard 
watch, consisting of one hundred and fifty men, were 
sent on shore for twenty-four hours. It was only a few 
hours before word came off that there was trouble 
ashore, and later a letter from the English admiral, say- 
ing that our men v/ere rioting with the English sailors, 
some of whom had been killed. Admiral Lardner di- 
rected the captain to send the other watch on shore. 
And then there was a fine time, sure enough! The 
Danish garrison was turned out and attempted to arrest 
some of the leaders; but they were soon driven back 
into their forts, and the English and our men went at it 
again. The native negroes all sided with the English, 

65 



A Sailor's Log 

and our people had them to contend with as well. 
Just before sundown the general recall was hoisted as 
a signal for all hands to repair on board, and such boats 
as we could man were sent in charge of ofBcers to bring 
the men off. I was sent in the admiral's barge, the 
crew of which were picked men, and I anticipated no 
trouble with them; but on nearing the landing, where 
two or three hundred men were fighting with such 
weapons as they could find, I heard the stretchers be- 
gin to rattle in the bottom of the boat, the oars were 
tossed, and before I knew what had happened every 
\/ fnan of the crew was out of the boat and into the fight, 
stretcher in hand. I followed, also armed with a 
stretcher, a very handy piece of white ash, and soon 
had my boat nearly loaded with men. But, unfortu- 
nately, I saw one of our men with three or four natives 
after him, and went at once to his assistance. As I 
grabbed him by the arm one of the negroes struck at 
my head with a broken oar, but only hit me across 
the shoulders, which probably saved my life. I was 
knocked down, of course, but quickly regained my feet 
with a fine round stone in my hand, w'hich I planted 
squarely in the negro's mouth, and he gave no further 
trouble. By midnight wc had our people on board, 
and found that three had been killed and many more 
or less seriously wounded, while the English were in 
about the same fix. Some of the rum mills on the 
water front were badly wTccked. After this experience 
our men had no more shore liberty until we got back 
to the United States. 

\^ Many years afterward I visited St. Thomas, and 
at the best hotel I saw a coloured porter without any 

66 



A Fatal Accident 

front teeth, who told me, when I asked him what had 
become of them, *' A Httle Yankee midshipman hit 
me in the mouth with a rock! " He was my friend with 
the broken oar. 

During the time we were lying at headquarters the 
watch officers had a peculiar duty to perform in addi- 
tion to their regular work. The officer who had the 
first watch at night was obliged to be ready for duty at 
four the next morning. As soon as the men had had 
their coffee, he left the ship with two boats and the fish- 
ing seine, and was expected back by eight o'clock, with 
fish enough for the whole crew. The fishing ground 
was five or six miles away, and to get to it we had 
to find our way through a tangle of shoals and coral 
heads, but once on the ground we could fill both boats 
with tarpon or other splendid fish at one haul of the 
seine. Usually we reached the ship just in time for 
breakfast, and then went on duty for four hours, which 
made a pretty long forenoon of it. However, we were 
young and strong, and could stand almost anything. 

One morning while exercising at sail drill, we had 
a sad accident, which was long remembered by the 
whole crew. We had two brothers on board, one a 
seaman about twenty-three years old, and the other 
a landsman about eighteen; both excellent men, very 
active and promising. The younger one missed his 
footing in the foretopmast rigging, and fell to the deck 
and died in a few hours. We were quarantined at the 
time, and could not bury his body on shore; neither 
could we buy screws for his coffin when we found that 
there were none on board. The coffin had to be nailed 
up, which was anything but a pleasant performance, 

67 



A Sailor's Log 

as the carpenter, a little nervous, I suppose, hit the 
coffin Hd much oftener than he did the heads of the 
nails. I never understood why the captain insisted on 
burying the body in a coffin, but he probably had a 
reason of his own which he did not confide to us. 

Just before sundown two boats were called away 
and dropped to the gangway — one for the body, and 
the other to tow it out to sea, where it was to be buried. 
All hands were called to bury the dead, and I was or- 
dered to take charge of the boats when everything was 
ready. The coffin was placed on the quarter-deck, the 
officers and men paraded, and the captain had pro- 
nounced a few^ words of the burial service, when a loud, 
prolonged squeak was heard, and the lid of the coffin 
slowly raised several inches. It was the most terrify- 
ing sound I ever heard in my life, and the eftect was 
startling; most of the men bolted forward, and the 
officers were very pale. I was standing near the head 
of the coffin, and my legs were only prevented from 
carrying me away by the fact that my hands were 
firmly gripping the spokes of the wheel. The trouble 
was soon manifest: the gases formed in the body had 
caused it to swell and lift the lid of the coffin, and the 
nails in drawing out made the awful noise that had 
so startled over three hundred men. 

There was some delay in getting things ready again, 
and when I finally left the ship with a crew of petty offi- 
cers, towing the boat with the body in it. the moon had 
risen. Out over the bar we went, pitching into rather 
a rough sea until I thought we had reached the right 
spot, when the boat was hauled up alongside and the 
body consigned to the deep. Then we started back for 

68 



A Weird Experience 

the ship. We had gone only a few hundred yards when 
the men fell into a perfect panic; some of them even 
dropped their oars overboard, and all hands stopped 
pulling, their faces white and terror-stricken. The 
stroke oar, a splendid specimen of manhood, fairly 
shook as he said to me, " He's coming, sir! " I turned, 
and looking out to sea, was not surprised at the con- 
dition of the men, for I was horrified myself at what I 
saw. The coffin was standing upright in the water, 
and as it rose on the seas it seemed, in the moonhght, 
to be making great jumps after us. It certainly was a 
most nerve-shattering sight, especially after the un- 
pleasant scene on board ship. There was only one 
thing to do, and after quite a struggle with the men 
we pulled back, knocked the head of the coffin in and 
allowed it to sink. It was the most uncanny job I 
ever did in my life, I think, and I was glad when we 
were back on board and the boats hoisted up. No real 
danger could have frightened any one of the crew; 
they were a splendid, manly lot, and showed great 
spirit when in action; but just a touch of the super- 
natural, the least bit, and they were ready to hide their 
heads in the bottom of the boat. 

Havana was, for some reasons, the most pleasant 
port to visit on the station; we got fine cheap cigars, 
and sometimes good meat there, but we hated it more 
than any place we had to go to, because the people 
were so bitter against us. The Southerners who lived 
there were not so bad, but the Spaniards were almost 
unbearable. On several occasions we found blockade 
runners anchored in the harbour, and their crews 
would pelt our boats with lumps of coal as we passed 

69 



A Sailor's Log 

back and forth, all of which we could avoid by pulling 
a bit farther away; but the abuse on shore we could 
not avoid, as we were obliged always to land in uni- 
form. Under such conditions collisions were frequent, 
and as a rule we were content with the way we came 
out of them. In the matter of coal we were held 
strictly to the law, while the blockade runners were 
allowed great latitude, and in consequence were very 
successful. 

In 1864 Jeffrard was ruler of Hayti, and his iron 
hand was felt by all classes. He was thoroughly hated 
but at the same time feared by the people generally. 
Revolutions, shootings, and hangings were the order 
of the day; the people seemed happy, and appeared to 
enjoy all these diversions. The ordinary routine was 
somewhat varied during one of our stays in Cape 
Haytien by the discovery of a gang of cannibals, who 
occupied a strong position in the mountains near the 
Old Castle. Jeffrard went after them, captured the 
whole lot, brought them to Cape Haytien, where they 
were confined for a few days, and then shot. It was 
reported and believed at the time that several barrels 
of human flesh had been captured with the prisoners, 
and that some of it was produced in evidence before 
they were shot. The favourite morsel was said to be 
the palm of the hand. If one could judge from appear- 
ances, we were sure Jeffrard made no mistake in shoot- 
ing this lot, for they certainly were the worst-looking 
cutthroats wc had ever seen. 

During the month of October, 1864. a rumour 
came that we would soon be ordered to the United 
States for more active duty than we had been having 

70 



Homeward Bound 

in the West Indies. The next mail brought the order, 
and all hands, from the admiral down, were as happy as 
boys out of school. Our preparations for departure 
were quickly made, and we said good-bye to the West 
Indies, yellow fever, rebel sympathizers, heat, filth, and 
hard service — the whole outfit — without a single pang. 
The old ship seemed to know that she was homeward 
bound, and did her best. Early in November we an- 
chored in Hampton Roads, and as soon as possible all 
hands, as they could be spared from duty, sought the 
dissipations of the city of Norfolk, which at that time 
was not the best place in the world for those wearing 
United States uniform. However, we did manage to 
enjoy a good square meal and the conversation of 
people of our own race. Only those who have served 
away from home can appreciate what all this means, 
and how we enjoyed it. 

; Soon after our arrival. Admiral Lardner was de- 
tached, and left the ship with the respect and affec- 
tion of every officer and man aboard. A few days 
later Captain Ronckendorf was sent to other duty, and 
Commodore Schenck took his place. In our new com- 
mander we had one of the ablest men of the navy, 
and one who soon endeared himself to all on board. 
He found a splendidly drilled crew and a ship thor- 
oughly organized in every department and detail, and 
he showed his appreciation of it all. Our men were 
all long-service men, and there was not the demoraliza- 
tion that always comes with a draft of new men to be 
whipped into shape with a lot of old ones. I am sure 
we did not require a dozen men to complete our com- 
plement. 

6 yi 



A Sailor's Log 

We lost one man in a curious way. We had 
among the crew a " bounty jumper " — so called be- 
cause he had drawn a bounty on enlistment and then 
deserted. In fact, he had repeated this trick a good 
many times before he finally fitted into his place on 
board the Powhatan. He was a plausible sort of a 
chap, and had made himself a favourite with the men 
on board to such an extent that the petty officers 
had made him caterer of their mess, and had given 
him quite a large sum of money with which to 
buy stores. When we anchored, well up toward the 
middle ground, a number of bumboats came off to 
trade with us, and when they left it was soon discov- 
ered that the " bounty jumper " had gone with them, 
taking all the mess money. A boat was soon ready 
to follow them, manned by a crew of petty ofiicers, 
as they would be sure to pull harder than any others 
in the ship. I was sent in charge of the boat, and 
soon picked out the canoe containing the deserter by 
the frantic efforts she was making to escape, which 
she finally did, owing to the long start she had. All 
tlie canoes, half a dozen or more, landed at the same 
place five minutes ahead of me, and in the semi-dark- 
ness I could not see where the men disappeared. I at 
once notified the guards about the fort of what had 
happened, and asked the officer of the day to order 
the man's arrest, which he did. Then I went back to 
my boat, and found that the crew had been looking 
about, but found nothing of importance. Just as I 
was about to shove off, a tall, powerful boatswain's 
mate said: " Let me look under this wharf, sir; it is 
low tide; he may be there." Off he went, and was gone 

72 



Homeward Bound 

five or ten minutes. I could hear him occasionally 
splashing around, but not making noise enough to in- 
dicate any trouble. Finally, he came back, reported, 
" He's gone, sir! " and I returned to the ship at once. 
The next morning the body of the man we had been 
looking for was found under the wharf with his throat 
cut from ear to ear, and no money on his person. His 
was one of the vacancies we had to fill from Norfolk. 



73 



CHAPTER VII 

THE FIRST FORT FISHER CAMPAIGN 

Admiral Porter assumed command in Novem- 
ber, and at once began assembling a powerful fleet. 
Every preparation was made for active service. 
Boilers and machinery were overhauled, magazines, 
shell rooms, and storerooms replenished, and constant 
target practice was had with all guns. By the end of 
November the largest fleet ever seen under the Ameri- 
can flag was assembled in Hampton Roads, all classes, 
from the largest monitor to the small gunboat, being 
represented. Our destination was a secret, carefully 
guarded; but w'e surmised from what was taking place 
that some important move was contemplated, and in 
this we were not mistaken. It was evident from the 
daily target practice that the admiral meant we should 
hit something when the time for action came, and the 
landing of the men on the beach for drill was an in- 
dication of possible shore service. 

The Ticonderoga, anchored near us. was firing at 
target one morning, and making such good practice 
that we were all watching her with great interest, 
when one of her pivot guns, a large-calibre Parrott. 
was fired. There was a terrific report, as if the shell 
had burst at the muzzle of the gun, a great cloud of 

74 



Arrival of Troops 

smoke, and then something struck close to her, mak- 
ing a great splash in the water. At the same time, 
or shortly afterward, the shot she had fired fell near 
the target. About two feet of the muzzle of the 
gun had blown off, straight up in the air, and come 
down within twenty feet of the ship. It was the 
most curious of the many accidents we had then 
and afterward with the Parrott rifles. This particu- 
lar gun, though two feet shorter than it was in- 
tended to be, was continued in service, and did good 
work. 

Early in December the troopships arrived — thir- 
teen thousand men under General B. F. Butler — and 
still our destination was a secret. 

About this time I received a letter by flag of 
truce from my brother, who was serving as a captain 
of scouts on General Lee's staff, in which he said, 
" We will give you a warm reception at Fort Fisher 
when you get there!" — showing that our intended 
move was not so much of a secret to the rebels as 
it was to us. The information must have been sent 
from Washington, as no one in the fleet, outside the 
admiral's immediate official family, knew anything 
about it. When I showed the letter to Commodore 
Schenck, which I was required to do by the regula- 
tions, he seemed much surprised, and sent me with 
it at once to Admiral Porter, who was very indig- 
nant when he had read it. For myself, I thought 
my brother had only made a good guess; there were 
only a few important places on the Southern coast re- 
maining in the hands of the rebels, and, as our prepara- 
tions surely indicated an important move, he guessed, 

75 



/ 



A Sailor's Logf 



t> 



/ 



and guessed correctly, that we were after the most im- 
portant of the lot. 

Toward the middle of December all our prepara- 
tions had been completed, and we put to sea under 
scaled orders. It was a grand sight as we passed Cape 
Henry; all the water as far as one could see w^as 
covered with ships, and among them the flower of the 
navy. Commodore James Findlay Schenck com- 
manded the third division of the fleet, and flew his 
flag on the Powhatan. The fleet was formed in three 
columns, the transports and storeships in the centre. 

After passing Cape Henry we experienced beauti- 
ful weather, and got around Hatteras in almost a dead 
calm, much to the delight of the troops, who were 
dreadfully crowded on the troopships. On December 
22(\ the fleet, having parted company with the trans- 
ports, anchored in column thirteen miles off the mouth 
of Cape Fear River, and then, of course, we knew what 
we had in hand. That afternoon it came on to blow 
hard from southeast, and when the sun went down the 
sight was a grand and threatening one. The seven 
monitors at the head of the column held on well at 
their anchors, but would disappear entirely from sight 
as the heavy seas swept over them. The ships soon 
began to drag, and all hands were kept on deck dur- 
ing the entire night, ready to do what was possible 
in case of collision. When daylight came the monitors 
were still in place, but the rest of the fleet was scat- 
tered over a space of sixteen miles, and nowhere could 
we make out a single transport. At sundown of the 
23d the fleet was again anchored in good condition, 
none the worse for the shaking up it had had; but still 

76 



The Powder Boat 

we wondered what had become of the transports, as 
none of them showed up. It turned out later that 
they were safely anchored well inshore of us, waiting 
for the stragglers, who had been blown out of place 
in the gale, to come up. 

Before leaving Fortress Monroe, General Butler had 
proposed a '* powder boat," by the explosion of which 
he hoped to seriously injure the forts on Federal Point, 
including Fort Fisher. Indeed, he was confident that 
he would dismount most of the guns and level the 
works. An old steamer, the Georgiana, had been 
loaded with several hundred tons of powder, and 
turned over to the navy to explode at the proper spot. 
A crew of volunteers, commanded by Captain A. C. 
Rhind, had her in charge, and on the evening of De- 
cember 24th took her in for the final act in her career. 
No man in the navy believed for a moment that she 
would do much harm, but none of us anticipated how 
little injury would come from the explosion. 

At eleven o'clock that night Admiral Porter 
steamed about the fleet in his flagship, the side-wheeled 
steamer Malvern, and made signal: " Powder boat 
will blow up at 1.30 a. m. Be prepared to get under 
way, and stand in to engage the fort ! " After that 
there was no sleep for any one; we stood and watched 
and waited as the hours slowly dragged by. Half 
past one came, and no explosion, and we were feai- 
ful of some mishap; but just as the bells struck tv/o 
o'clock it came. At first a gentle vibration, then the 
masts and spars shook as if they would come dov/n 
about our ears; and then came the low rumble like dis- 
tant thunder, while the sky to the westward was 

77 



A Sailor's Log 

lighted up for a few seconds, and then great masses of 
powder smoke hung over the land like thunder clouds. 
The powder boat had blown up surely, and as the fleet 
rapidly formed for battle there was great curiosity 
everywhere to see what the efifect had been. 

At daylight we were heading in for the fort, and 
almost in range, when we saw General Butler's flagship 
coming in at full speed, heading straight at Fort Fisher, 
which looked to us very grim and strong, and totally 
uninjured. Everything was very quiet until the general 
got fairly within range, when there was a flash from 
the fort and a prolonged roar, and all the guns on that 
face of the work opened on his ship. If he had had 
any notion that he could land unopposed he was 
quickly undeceived, and the way that ship turned and 
got offshore spoke well for the energy of her fire- 
room force! The last we saw of her she was running 
east as fast as her engines could carry her. The pow- 
der boat had proved a failure, and the general was 
grievously disappointed. A rebel newspaper reported 
that a Yankee gunboat had blown up on the beach 
and all hands lost. 

The fleet stood on in column, the monitors leading 
until in position, when the leader anchored; and then 
the rest anchored in succession as they reached their 
places. It was a beautiful evolution and beautifully 
performed. As soon as the monitors came in range, all 
the guns that would bear opened furiously; and as the 
range was only seven hundred yards, the hits were fre- 
quent. The rebels seemed to conclude very quickly 
that they could do nothing with the ironclads, so they 
held their fire for the wooden ships. Then the Minne- 

78 



The Bombardment 

sota took her place, and as her anchor went down her 
batteries opened, first a broadside from the spar deck, 
and then her gun-deck broadside roared its Christmas 
greeting. At the same moment all the rebel guns re- 
plied, and the ship was completely enveloped in the 
smoke from her own guns and the bursting rebel 
shells. For a moment it looked as if she must be dis- 
abled, but then her guns began to speak out with a 
welcome sound, and we knew she was all right. The 
Wabash and the Colorado followed the Minnesota, 
and quickly dropped into their places, opening as they 
did so with their tremendous batteries. In rapid suc- 
cession each vessel of the fleet passed them on the off 
side, firing through the intervals between them, and 
thus the battle line was formed. At times the shower 
of shells coming over the vessels engaged gave us a 
foretaste of what was in store for us, but the losses were 
wonderfully few. 

Just as the Powhatan dropped her anchors an 
incident occurred which caused much bitter com- 
ment afterward. The Brooklyn, the next ship to us 
in Hne, was commanded by Captain James Alden, 
whose conduct at the battle of Mobile Bay had not 
met the approval of Admiral Farragut. In taking his 
position in line he held his fire until his anchor was 
down, when he fired a broadside very smartly, which 
brought from the admiral the signal, " Well done, 
Brooklyn!" the only signal of commendation made y 
during the fight. The general feeling was that it was 
a theatrical performance, and that the signal did in- 
justice to many veteran officers who had handled their 
ships with consummate skill. However, the signal un- 

n 



A Sailor's Log 

doubtedly went far toward rcmovinc^ the stigma of 
Mobile Bay, and the friends of Captain Aldcn rejoiced 
over it. 

We had been up, many of us, all night, and our 
only breakfast had been cofTee and hard-tack. As we 
approached our position Commodore Schenck sent me 
aloft with a pair of glasses to locate, if possible, some 
guns that were annoying him. It was a raw, col<l 
morning, and I had on a short double-breasted coat, in 
the pockets of which I had stowed several pieces of 
hard-tack. When I had taken my place in the mizzen 
rigging, just below the top. I put the corner of a hard- 
tack in my mouth, and was holding it between my 
teeth while I took a look through the glasses for the 
guns. I caught them at once, and saw gunners train 
one of them around until I could only see the muzzle 
of it, which interested me, because I knew it was point- 
ing directly at us. There was a pufT of smoke, some- 
thing like a lamp-post crossed the field of the glass, 
and a moment after the rigging was cut four feet be- 
low me, and I swung into the mast. I at once thought 
of my hard-tack, but it was gone, and I never found 
even a crumb of it. I am sure that I swallowed it 
whole. When I had reported what I had made out of 
the battery I was directed to lay down from aloft to 
my station, which was in charge of the after division 
of guns: but T hesitated to do so, because my knees 
were shaking, and I was afraid the men would see it. 
However, T had to come down, and as soon as I reached 
the deck T stood up and looked at my legs, and was 
greatly relieved to find that they did not show the 
nervous tremor that worried me so. I soon forgot all 

80 



Under Fire 

about it as I became interested and warmed up to my 
work. 

We had only eighteen inches of water under us 
when we finally anchored and began firing rapidly in 
obedience to signal from the admiral. There was a 
wreck of a blockade runner between us and the bat- 
tery at which we were to fire, and it was soon evident 
that this had been used as a target and the range was 
well known. One or two shots were fired in line with 
it, each one coming closer to us, and then they struck 
us with a ten-inch shot. Four more followed, each one 
striking nearly in the same place, on the bends for- 
ward of the starboard wheel, and going through on to 
the berth deck. Then for some reason the shot and 
shell began going over us, striking the water thirty 
or forty feet away. Probably the gunners on shore 
could not see the splash of these shots, and thought 
they were striking us. If they had not changed their 
range when they did they would have sunk us in an 
hour. As it was, we hauled out at sundown pretty 
well hammered, and leaking so that we had to shift 
all our guns to port in order to stop the shot holes. 

We had damaged the fort to the extent of dis- 
mounting some of the guns and burning the barracks 
and of^cers' quarters. When the whole line was fairly 
engaged the sight was magnificent, and never to be for- 
gotten by those who saw it. No fort had ever before 
been subjected to such a fire, and the garrison could 
only make a feeble response; most of them were driven 
into the bombproofs, where they remained until we 
hauled ofif for the night. The heaviest losses on our 
side had been caused by the bursting of the one-hun- 

8i 



A Sailor's Log 

dred-pound Parrott rifles; thirty-five or forty men had 
been killed or wounded in this way. 

The transports in the meantime were got together, 
and while a slow, steady fire was kept up on the forts 
by the monitors and a portion of the fleet, the rest 
of us devoted our energies to getting the troops on 
shore. The weather was favourable for the purpose, 
and in one day and night we landed General Butler 
and his thirteen thousand soldiers with their ammuni- 
tion and stores. Then for two days more we ham- 
mered away at the fort, expecting every hour to see 
them carried by the army; but we were not to have 
that pleasure. Some officers and men did get very 
near the fort, but, without making the effort, the gen- 
eral decided that the works had not been seriously 
damaged as defensive works, and were too strong to 
be carried by assault. He therefore asked that we re- 
embark his men, which we did, and he sailed for the 
North. So ended the first attack on Fort Fisher, 
which had promised so much to the national cause. 



82 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE ASSAULT ON FORT FISHER 

Admiral Porter was not willing to give up so 
easily, and on his representations, concurred in by- 
General Grant, the second expedition was organized. 
The fleet was ordered to Beaufort, North Carolina, 
and such vessels as could do so entered the harbour; 
the rest anchored outside, and all hands worked day 
and night coaling and filHng up with ammunition and 
stores. Any one who has served on that coast in the 
winter months will know the difficulties with which 
we had to contend; to those who have not, no ade- 
quate idea can be given. Gales of wind were of almost 
constant occurrence, and, as we were in the open 
sea, the vessels rolled so that frequently we had to use 
life lines on our decks to prevent the men from being 
washed overboard. On many occasions vessels had to 
slip their cables and go to sea to ride out the storms. 

Notwithstanding all this, in two weeks we were 
ready to try it again, and this time success seemed to be 
in the air. That gallant soldier, General Alfred Terry, 1/ 
was in command of the army contingent; his men were 
enthusiastic and anxious for the fight, and he and Ad- 
miral Porter were working in harmony — a fact of itself 
promising the very best results. It was agreed be- 

83 



A Sailor's Log 

tween the commanders that a naval brigade should be 
landed to assist the army in the assault, by attacking 
the sea face of the fort, while the army went in on the 
northwest angle. Volunteers were called for from the 
navy for this service, and it was gratifying to see the 
officers and men come forward, almost in a body, for 
a job they knew would be a desperate one. So many 
volunteered that finally a detail had to be made from 
each ship, and there were many sorely disappointed 
ones when the names were published. 

It was my good fortune to be of^cer of the deck 
when the order came on board directing the move- 
ment, and so I had my name put first on the list of 
those who volunteered. At this time there were four 
classmates on board — Harris, Kellogg, Morris, and 
Evans. All volunteered, and as only two could go, 
we agreed that Harris and Kellogg, being in the first 
section of the class, should have one chance between 
them, and Morris and I being in the second section, 
should have the other chance. Harris won his chance 
on the toss of a penny; but I, being a Virginian and 
having no particular family ties, insisted that I should 
go rather than Morris, who came from New York and 
would be sadly missed if he were killed. To all of this 
Morris naturally objected, and we seemed a long way 
from any conclusion, when he suggested that we leave 
the selection to Lieutenant-Commander George Bache, 
who was to command the men from the Powhatan, 
which was done, and Bache selected me. 

January 13th found us again in front of Fort 
Fisher, and this time we came to stay. The fleet 
opened on the fort, and kept up a constant and accu- 

84 



The Landing 

rate fire. We soon found a great difference in the gar- 
rison from the one we had fought in the first attack. 
They stood up and fought their guns most gallantly, 
and would not be driven into the bombproofs, A 
division of gunboats was sent close in to cover the 
landing of the troops, which was done by the boats of 
the fleet in a sea heavy enough to make care necessary. 
I was in charge of the commodore's barge, a very 
handsome, large, able boat, fit to carry thirty-five or 
forty men. We made the first landing with over two 
hundred boats, and the sight was a notable one as we 
pulled in, an occasional shell splashing among us, and 
the bullets spluttering on the surface of the water. 

As soon as the order was given to land we went for 
the beach at full speed, and, after passing the first 
breakers, turned our boats and backed them in until our 
passengers could land almost with dry feet but to get 
them out of the boats at the right moment was almost 
impossible. They would wait too long, and as a result 
most of them were rolled up on the beach by the surf, 
soaking wet. But once on shore it was glorious to 
see how they knew their business and the way they 
did it. As soon as they got their feet they spread out 
into a skirmish line, and the rifles began to crack. 
When I came in with the second load those on shore 
had captured some cattle, and were skinning them, 
and did not seem the least bit worried by the fire of 
the skirmishers, only three or four hundred yards 
away. Before dark we had all the men landed, and 
enough ammunition and stores to make them safe and 
comfortable in case it should come on to blow. Dur- 
ing the night we completed the landing of stores and 

85 



A Sailor's Log 

supplies and some thirty-pound Parrott guns, which 
were immediately put in position facing General 
Bragg, who was coming from the direction of Wil- 
mington to re-enforce the garrison of Fort Fisher. The 
bombardment was kept up during the 14th, while the 
army got into position for the assault, which had been 
fixed for the afternoon of the 15th. 

The premonitions that men have before going into 
battle are very curious and interesting, particularly 
when they come true. We had on board the Pow- 
hatan a fine young seaman named Flannigan, who 
came from Philadelphia. On the night of the 14th of 
January he came to my room with a small box in his 
hand, and said to me, " Mr. Evans, will you be kind 
/enough to take charge of this box for me — it has some 

"^^ little trinkets in it — and give it to my sister in Phila- 
dcljihia? " I asked him why he did not deliver it him- 
self, to which he replied, " I am going ashore with you 
to-morrow, and will be killed." I told him how many 
bullets it required to kill a man in action, and in other 
ways tried to shake his conviction, but it was no use — 
he stuck to it. He showed no nervousness over it, but 
seemed to regard it as a matter of course. I took the 
box and, after making a proper memorandum, put it 
away among my things. On the afternoon of the next 
day, when we were charging the fort and just as we 
came under fire, at about eight hundred yards, I saw 
Flannigan reel out to one side and drop, the first man 

^ hit, with a bullet through his heart. I stepped quickly 
to his side and asked if he were badly hurt ; the only 
reply was a smile as he looked up into my face and 
rolled over dead. The box was delivered as he re- 

86 



Ready to Attack 

quested, and I afterward assisted in getting a pension 
for his sister. 

January 15th proved a beautiful day for our work, 
clear and warm enough, with a smooth beach for our 
landing. At early daylight the whole fleet opened on 
the fort, and poured shells in on it at a fearful 
rate. After a hasty dinner at noon the signal was 
made at one o'clock, " Land naval brigade." In a few 
minutes we were off, cheered by our shipmates, and 
pulling for the shore, where we landed unopposed and 
without serious accident, about one mile and a half 
from the northeast angle of Fort Fisher. On the way 
ashore some evilly disposed person fired a shot at us, 
which struck the stroke oar of my boat, cut it in two, 
and sent the handle spinning across my stomach with 
such force that I thought I was broken in two. On 
landing we were quickly formed in three divisions, with 
the marine battalion in the lead. 

During the forenoon a force of firemen had landed 
under Lieutenant Preston to dig rifle pits, well to 
the front, and these were to be occupied by the 
marines, who were to keep down the rebel fire until 
the sailors, armed with cutlass and revolver, reached 
the parapet. When the divisions were formed, we 
advanced until we reached a point about twelve hun- 
dred yards from the fort, where we halted and 
waited the signal to charge, which was to be the 
blowing of the steam whistle on the flagship, repeated 
by other vessels of the fleet. All the guns that we 
could see had been dismounted or disabled in the 
bombardment, but after we landed there was one 
large rifle that opened on us and did some damage, 
7 87 



A Sailor's Log 

The shells generally struck short of us, and would then 
ricochet down the level beach, jumping along for all 
the world like rabbits. To avoid this shell fire the 
divisions had been marched by the flank to take ad- 
vantage of what shelter the slope of the beach offered. 
It thus happened that the three divisions forged up 
abreast of each otiier, and we charged in this forma- 
tion — three columns abreast, the marines leading. 
While we were waiting for the army to report ready, 
our men had a good rest, and seemed to be in excel- 
lent spirits. The rebels were firing at us slowly, but 
doing no damage to speak of. Curious little pufTs of 
sand showed where the Enfield rifle balls were striking, 
but they only hit a man now and then by accident. 

At three o'clock the order to charge was given, 
and we started for our long run of twelve hundred 
yards over the loose sand. The fleet kept up a hot 
fire until we approached within about six hundred 
yards of the fort, and then ceased firing. The rebels 
seemed to understand our signals, and almost before 
the last gun was fired manned the parapet and opened 
on us with twenty-six hundred muskets. The army 
had not yet assaulted, so the whole garrison concen- 
trated its fire on us. Under the shower of bullets the 
marines broke before reaching the rifle pits that had 
been dug for them, and did not appear again as an 
organization in the assault. Most of the men and many 
of the officers mixed in with the column of sailors, and 
went on with them. About five hundred yards from the 
fort the head of the column suddenly stopped, and, as 
if by magic, the whole mass of men went down like a 
row of falling bricks; in a second every man was flat on 

88 



A Bloody Assault 

his stomach. The officers called on the men, and they 
responded instantly, starting forward as fast as they 
could go. At about three hundred yards they again 
went down, this time under the effect of canister added 
to the rifle fire. Again we rallied them, and once 
more started to the front under a perfect hail of lead, 
with men dropping rapidly in every direction. We 
were now so close that we could hear the voices of the 
rebels, and what they said need not be written here. 
The officers were pulling their caps down over their 
eyes, for it was almost impossible to look at the deadly 
flashing blue line of parapet, and we all felt that in a 
few minutes more we should get our cutlasses to work 
and make up for the fearful loss we had suffered. 

At this moment I saw Colonel Lamb, the Confed- 
erate commander, gallantly standing out on the parapet 
and calling on his men to get up and shoot the Yankees. 
I considered him within range of revolver, so took a 
deliberate shot at him. As I fired, a bullet ripped /" 
through the front of my coat across my breast, turn- 
ing me completely around. I felt a burning sensation, 
like a hot iron, over my heart, and saw something red 
coming out of the hole in my coat which I took for 
blood. I knew, of course, that if a bullet had gone 
through this portion of my body I was done for; but 
that was no place to stop, so I went on at the head \J 
li my company. As we approached the remains of 
ihe stockade I was aware that one particular sharp- 
shooter was shooting at me, and when we were a 
hundred yards away he hit me in the left leg, about ^ 
three inches below the knee. The force of the blow 
was so great that I landed on my face in the sand. I 

89 



A Sailor's Log 

got a silk handkerchief out of my pocket, and with 
the kind assistance of my classmate, Hoban Sands, 
v/ soon stopped the blood, and again went to the front 
as fast as I could. 

About this time the men were stumbling over wires 
which they cut with their knives — they proved to be 
wires to the torpedoes over which we had charged, but 
they failed to explode. My left leg seemed asleep, but 
1 was able to use it. The stockade, or what remained 
of it, was very near, and I determined to lead my com- 
pany by the flank through a break in it, and then 
charge over the angle of the fort, which now looked 
very difficult to climb. I managed to get through the 
stockade with seven others, when my sharpshooter 
friend sent a bullet through my right knee, and I 
realized that my chance of going was settled. I tried 
to stand up, but it was no use; my legs would not hold 
me, and besides this I was bleeding dreadfully, and I 
knew that was a matter which had to be looked to. 
I heard some one say, " They are retreating! " and 
looking back I saw our men breaking from the rear of 
the columns and retreating. All the officers, in their 
anxiety to be the first into the fort, had advanced to 
the heads of the columns, leaving no one to steady the 
.men in behind; and it was in this way we were de- 
feated, by the men breaking from the rear. Two min- 
utes more and we should have been on the parapet, 
and then — nobody can even guess what would have 
happened, but surely a dreadful loss of life. As the 
men retreated down the beach they were gathered up 
and put into the trenches to oppose Bragg, and there 
served until after the fort was captured. Of the eight of 

90 



A Duel to the Death 

us who went inside the stockade all were shot down; 
one, the colour bearer of my company, was halfway 
up the parapet when he received his death wound. 

When I received the wound in my right knee I 
began at once to try to stop the flow of blood. I used 
for the purpose one of the half dozen silk handkerchiefs 
with which I had provided myself, but I was so tired 
and weak from loss of blood that I was some time 
doing the trick. In the meantime my sharpshooter 
friend, about thirty-five yards away, continued to V 
shoot at me, at the same time addressing me in very 
forcible but uncomplimentary language. At the fifth 
shot, I think it was, he hit me again, taking off the 
end of one of my toes, tearing off the sole of my shoe, 
and wrenching my ankle dreadfully. I thought the 
bullet had gone through my ankle, the pain was so in- 
tense. For some reason, I don't know why, this shot 
made me unreasonably angry, and, rolling over in the 
sand so as to face my antagonist, I addressed a few ^ 
brief remarks to him; and then, just as some one 
handed him a freshly loaded musket, I fired, aiming at 
his breast. I knew all the time that I should kill him 
if I shot at him, but had not intended to do so until 
he shot me in the toe. My bullet went a Httle high, 
striking the poor chap in the throat and passing out 
at the back of his neck. He staggered around, after 
dropping his gun, and finally pitched over the parapet 
and rolled down near me, where he lay dead. I could 
see his feet as they projected over a pile of sand, and 
from their position knew that he had fought his last 
fight. Near me was lying the cockswain of my boat, 
Campbell by name, who had a canister ball through 

91 



A Sailor's Loe 



t> 



his lungs, and was evidently bleeding to death. When 
he saw the result of my shot he said, " Mr. Evans, let 

me crawl over and give that another shot." 

He was dead almost before I could tell him that the 
poor fellow did not require any further attention 
from us. 

One of the marines from the Powhatan, a splen- 
did fellow named Wasmouth, came through the stock- 
ade, quickly gathered me up under one arm, and be- 
fore the sharpshooters could hit him laid me down in 
a place of comparative safety; but a moment afterward 
the fleet opened fire again, and the shells from the 
New Ironsides and the monitors began falling danger- 
ously near us. Occasionally one would strike short and, 
exploding, send great chunks of mud and pieces of log 
flying in all directions. Wasmouth again picked me 
up, and, after carrying me about fifty yards, dropped 
me into a pit made by a large shell. Here I was en- 
tirely protected from the rebel fire, and several times 
called to him to take cover, but he said each time, 
" The bullet has not been made that will kill me." I 
was very drowsy and almost asleep when I heard the 
peculiar thug of a pullet, and looking up, found poor 
Wasmouth with his hand to his neck, turning round 
and round, and the blood spurting out in a steady 
stream. The bullet had gone through his neck, cut- 
ting the jugular, and in a few minutes he dropped in 
the edge of the surf and bled to death. He certainly 
was an honour to his uniform. 

Just as our men began to break, the army made 
their charge, and were able to make a lodgment on 
the northwest port'on of the works before the rebels, 

92 



Helpless from Wounds 

who had taken us for the main assauking column, saw 
them. When they discovered them, however, they 
went at them with a savage yell, and for seven hours 
fought them desperately, the same bombproof in sev- 
eral cases being captured and recaptured five or six 
times. A number of sharpshooters remained on the 
sea face and northeast angle, and shot at every mov- 
ing thing. No doubt this was owing to the fact that 
quite a number of marines were scattered about the 
beach wherever they could find cover, keeping up a 
steady fire. 

After Wasmouth was killed I soon fell asleep, and 
when I awoke it was some time before I could recall 
my surroundings. The tide had come in, and the hole 
in which I was lying was nearly full of water, which 
had about covered me and was trickling into my ears., 
I could see a monitor firing, and apparently very near, 
and the thought came to me that I could swim ofif to 
her if I only had a bit of plank or driftwood, but this 
I could not get. It was plain enough that I should 
soon be drowned like a rat in a hole unless I managed 
^ to get out somehow. Dead and wounded men were 
^ing about in ghastly piles, but no one to lend me a 
helping hand. By this time I could not use my legs 
in any way, and when I dug my hands into the sides of 
my prison and tried to pull myself out the sand gave 
way and left me still lying in the water. Finally, I 
made a strong eflfort, and rolled myself sideways out 
of the hole. When I got out I saw a marine a short 
distance away, nicely covered by a pile of sand, and 
firing very deliberately at the fort. I called to him 
to pull me in behind his pile of sand, but he declined, 

93 



A Sailor's Log 

on the ground that the rebel fire was too sharp for 
him to expose himself. I persuaded him with my re- 
volver to change his mind, and in two seconds he had 
nic in a place of safety — that is to say, safe by a small 
margin, for when he tired, the rebel bullets would snip 
the sand within a few inches of our heads. If the 
marine had known that my revolver was soaking wet, 
and could not possibly be fired, I suppose I should 
have been buried the next morning, as many other 
poor fellows were. As soon as I could reach some car- 
tridges from a dead sailor lying near me I loaded my 
revolver, thinking it might be useful before the job 
was finished. 

When I was jerked in behind this pile of sand, 
I landed across the body of the only coward I ever 
saw in the naval service. At first I was not conscious 
V that there was a man under me, so completely 
had he worked himself into the sand; he was actu- 
ally below the surface of the ground. The monitors 
were firing over us, and as a shell came roaring by 
he pulled his knees up to his chin, which hurt me, 
as it jostled my broken legs. I said, " Hello! are you 
wounded?" "No, sir," he replied; "I am afraid to 
move." "AH right, then," I said; "keep quiet, and 
don't hurt my legs again! " The next shell that came 
over he did the same thing, and the next, notwith- 
standing my repeated cautions. So I tapped him be- 
tween the eyes with the l)utt of my revolver, and he 
was ()uict after that. The poor creature was so scared 
that he would lie still and cry as the shells flew over 
us. As I said before, he was the only coward I ever 
saw in the naval service. 

94 



iiiiyi I u' ., J'irlF-'iT'KtiW^ 




I persuaded him with my revolver to change his mind. 



A Desperate Battle 

From my new position I could see the army slowly 
fighting its way from one gun to another, and it was 
a magnificent sight. They knew their business thor- 
oughly, these gallant fellows from the Army of the 
Potomac, and in the end, at ten o'clock that night, 
won a victory that will live as long as heroic deeds are 
recorded. I can recall to this day the splendid courage 
of rieneral Curtis, leading his brigade; he seemed to 
stand head and shoulders above those around him; 
and while I looked at him he went down, but was soon 
on his feet, only to go down a second time, shot in the 
eye. As darkness approached and the cold began to 
be felt, our men seemed to fight with more desperate 
determination, and the advance was more rapid. The 
Confederates were doing, and had done, all that human 
courage could do, but they were wearing out, and 
the arrival of fresh brigades on our side discouraged 
them. 

The scene on the beach at this time was a pitiful 
one — dead and wounded officers and men as far as one 
could see. As a rule, they lay quiet on the sand and 
took their punishment like the brave lads they v/ere, 
but occasionally the thirst brought on by loss of blood 
was more than they could bear, and a sound-wave 
would drift along, " Water, water, water! " and then 
all would be quiet again. It was one of the worst of 
the awful features of war. Just as the sun went down, 
and it did seem to go very slowly that afternoon, I saw 
an officer coming up the beach dressed in an overcoat 
and wearing side arms. As he approached me f rec- 
ognised fJr. Longstreet, and begged him to lie down, 
as the bullets were singing around his head. He took 

95 



./ 



V 



A Sailor's Log 

a canteen off a dead marine and gave me a swallow of 
sand and water, and did the same for another wounded 
man. Then, turning his face toward me, he said, " We 
will have you all off the beach to-night," and was mov- 
ing on to the front, when a bullet struck him in the 
forehead. He sprang several feet in the air, fell at full 
length on his back, and lay quite still and dead. His 
resignation had been accepted a week before, and as 
soon as this fight was done he was going home to 
Norfolk to be married. 

After the death of Dr. Longstreet I saw another 
man coming toward me; but he was taking advantage 
of all the cover he could get, and arrived without acci- 
dent. He was a fireman from the gunboat Chicopee, 
and said he had come after me, but had only a coal- 
shovel with which to aid me. He said if I could sit 
in the coal-shovel he could drag me ofif! The twilight 
was deepening, and it seemed improbable that a sharp- 
shooter could hit either of us, so I managed to get 
seated on the shovel, and the fireman, with both hands 
behind him on the handle, started to pull me off, but 
had only gone a few steps when a bullet struck him, 
passing through both arms below the elbows. That 
ended my trip on a coal-shovel, and I spent the time 
until dark making my friend as comfortable as possible. 
Then I heard some one calling my name, and in a few 
minutes two men came who said Captain Gushing had 
sent them to find me and bring me off. They had only 
their hands, but they used them most willingly and 
tenderly. One would put me on his back and carry 
me, while the other held me on. When the first one 
was tired, the two would change places; and thus I 

96 



Care of the Wounded 

was carried, shot through both legs, a distance of a 
mile and a half. 

The outfit for the care and comfort of the wounded 
consisted of a large fire made of cracker boxes and 
driftwood, a fair supply of very bad whisky, and a num- 
ber of able and intelligent medical officers. To the 
vicinity of this blazing fire I, among a large number 
of wounded men, was carried, and stretched out on a 
piece of plank with my head on a cracker box, where 
I enjoyed the warmth, which was very grateful in the 
chill of the January evening. My clothing was satu- 
rated with blood and salt water, and thoroughly filled 
with sand. My wounds were in the same condition. 
A rebel gunboat in the bayou back of the fort was 
using our fire as a target, and finally succeeded in 
landing a shell fairly in the middle of it, much to our 
discomfort. When the shell exploded several men 
were killed, and the fire blown about over the rest of 
us. The doctor finally got to me, and after cutting 
off my trousers and drawers well up on my thighs, split 
them down the sides and threw them into the fire. 
Then he ran a probe, first through one hole, then the 
other, said I was badly wounded, gave me a stifif glass ^y 
of grog, and passed on to the next man, leaving me 
practically naked. A brother officer, seeing my con- 
dition, took the. cape ofif his overcoat and wrapped 
it about my legs, and this, with the assistance of the 
grog, soon made me very comfortable. 

About half past nine that night Captain Breese, 
who commanded the brigade, succeeded in getting a 
lifeboat in through the heavy surf breaking on the 
beach, and at once wounded officers were tumbled into 

97 



A Sailor's Loe 



& 



her, while the crew stood in the water holding her 
head on to the seas. My turn came at last, and two 
friends landed me in the boat with my legs hanging 
over the stern; then the crew jumped in, the cockswain 
sat down calmly on my knees, gave the men the word, 
and out we went through the surf in beautiful style. 
The boat was from the gunboat Nereus, Captain 
Howell commanding, and to her we were taken. We 
found her rolling in the trough of the sea, but the 
officer of the deck had all preparations made, and we 
were quickly hoisted up to the davits^ jind willing 
hands soon transferred us to the deck. Jusi as they 
were putting me on a cot, before taking me below, I 
saw a signal torch on the parapet of the fort calling 
the flagship, and a moment later I read this signal: 
/ " The fort is O U R — " and then everything broke 
loose! Nobody waited for the completion of the sig- 
nal; all hands knew what that last letter would be. 
There was a great burst of rockets and blue lights, 
and the men manning the rigging cheered as the guns 
roared with saluting charges. Long after I was com- 
fortably swung in the wardroom I could hear the fleet 
rejoicing over the downfall of the great rebel strong- 
hold. 

The officers of the Nereus, from the captain down, 
spent the night doing all in their power to make 
us comfortable. We had a good supply of whisky 
and a pitcher of morphine and water, and they gave us 
plenty of both. Shortly after daylight signal was made 
to transfer all wounded men on board to the Santiago 
de Cuba, and for vessels having dead on board to hoist 
colours at half-mast. I shall never forget the sight 

98 



The Aftermath of Battle 

that greeted me when I was carried on deck to be put 
in the boat. The fleet lay just in the position in which 
it had fought the day before, and it seemed to me that 
every ship had her flag at half-mast lazily flapping in 
the drizzling rain. The weather was cold and raw, and 
all our wounds were stiff and sore, and every move- 
ment of those helping us caused indescribable suffer- 
ing. In the excitement of the charge, getting wounded 
was fun, but we had a different problem to solve, and 
it required real nerve to face it. 

Life. 



99 



CHAPTER IX 

EXPERIENCES OF A CONVALESCENT 

The Santiago de Cuba was soon loaded to her 
utmost capacity, and early in the forenoon we started 
for Norfolk, Virginia. My friends Kellogg and Mor- 
ris had kindly packed all my traps for me, and sent 
them on board so that I had a change of linen. The 
officers of the ship devoted themselves entirely to our 
comfort. Lieutenant-Commander Farquhar, the ex- 
ecutive officer, put four of us in his room and made us 
feel that everything he had belonged to us. If we had 
been his own brothers he could not have treated us 
with greater kindness. Before we passed Hatteras the 
fresh water ran low, and we had to drink warm water 
from the distillers, but we regarded that as a small 
matter so long as we could have a drop of whisky 
with it. 

The chaplain was a good soul, and was unremit- 
ting in his attentions to those who needed them. 
Once, when he came to see us, he said to one who was 
pretty badly used up, " My friend, you should be very 
thankful that it is no worse!" To which the officer 
replied, " I am, but I would be a d — d sight more 
thankful if it had not been so bad!" This did not 
evoke a reply from the man of God, who seemed to 

100 



Defying the Doctors 

consider it quite a new view of the situation; but to 
the rest of us it sounded like good common sense. 

After a very comfortable trip, all things considered, 
we arrived at Norfolk at daylight in the morning, and 
hauled alongside the wharf at the Naval Hospital. We 
were landed without delay, and I found myself on a 
comfortable bed in a large, clean-looking ward. I 
slipped my revolver under the pillow, and pulling the 
blankets up about my chin, went to sleep and did not 
awake until ten o'clock that night. The surgeon in 
charge and his principal assistant were standing by the 
bedside, and after a careful examination of my wounds 
they retired to the end of the room for consultation, 
when I distinctly heard the senior one say, " Take 
both legs off in the morning." I did not get much 
sleep that night, but I did do some very serious 
thinking. 

The following morning the assistant, who was 
a personal friend of mine, came in, and after a few 
words of greeting began to tell me how seriously I 
was wounded, and how dangerous wounds about the 
knee were. I saw at once that he hated to tell me 
what he was going to do to me, so to relieve the situa- 
tion I told him that I had overheard the conversation 
the night before; that I had thought very seriously 
of the matter, and that I preferred to die with my legs 
on; that I was only eighteen years old, and the 
thought of Hving my life without my legs was more 
than I cared to face; that as the legs belonged to me, 
I thought I had a right to say what was to become 
of them; and that I asked the doctors to do what they 
could for me with my legs on, and if I died it was 

lOI 



A Sailor's Log 

no matter. He heard mc very quietly, and I thought 
with sympathy, but when I had finished he said, " You 
know, Kvans, orders have to be obeyed! " Thinking 
that he had misunderstood me, I went over matters 
again, and wound up by asking that they put me out 
on the lawn on a cot rather than cut me to pieces; 
that I would find some one to take me to a hospital 
farther North. Again came the reply about obeying 
orders. Reaching over, I pulled the gun from under 
my pillow; I told him that there were six loads in it, 
and that if he or any one else entered my door with 
anything that looked like a case of instruments I 
meant to begin shooting, and that he might rest per- 
fectly sure that I would kill six before they cut my 
legs off. This brought matters to a crisis at once, and 
in a few minutes the surgeon in charge came in very 
angry and full of threats. But the result was that they 
left my legs on, and paid very little attention to me 
in any way for two weeks, when they found I had fever 
and must be looked after. 

To the wife of the doctor who was going to op- 
erate and his little daughter I owe my life. Had it 
not been for their kindness and care I should un- 
doubtedly have died. It would be difficult to make 
any one believe to-day the conditions that existed 
in the Norfolk Hospital at the time of which I write. 
No doubt the medical officers did the best they 
could with the tools they had to work with, but the 
tools were awfully bad. Hospital diet was unknown, 
and we lived on regular rations — at least I did, until 
bacon and cabbage knocked me out, strong as I was, 
and it was then that the doctor's wife and daugh- 

102 



Days of Suffering 4. 

ter saved me. Such a thing as a trained nurse was 
absolutely unknown, and there were none of the mod- 
ern conveniences for handling men in my perfectly 
helpless condition. No language of man can convey 
any idea of the quantity and variety of vermin in that 
hospital. I have lived my whole life in liopcs that it 
would burn down and that I might be there to see the 
slaughter! 

When it was discovered that I had fever I was 
placed in a room with two other officers — Paymaster 
Schenck, who had been wounded in the first fight at 
Fort Fisher, and a volunteer Heutenant named Vas- 
sallo, who had been literally peppered in the same 
fight by the bursting of a Parrott gun which he was 
firing. Schenck, who was the jolliest, best soul in the 
world, kept us amused with his stories, and read to us 
or wrote letters for us when we were unable to do so 
for ourselves. Erysipelas soon developed in my right 
leg from the attendant using a dirty sponge, and then 
came an abscess in the right knee. In the meantime 
bedsores added to my misery, and all the bones on 
my right side, hip, knee, and ankle came through the 
skin. In fact, I was a skeleton, and nothing more. 
For nurse in this room we had a fine chap named Mil- 
ligan, an enlisted man, who had been wounded and 
was convalescent, six feet tall and as strong as an ox, 
and scrupulously honest, but he knew nothing about 
nursing. Milligan had a pass- book, and every third 
day he would go to Norfolk and buy things for us, 
generally sugar and coffee and whisky. At five o'clock 
in the morning he would turn out and make a pot of 
strong coffee, and each patient would have a cup of it 
8 103 



A Sailor's Log 

with enough whisky put in to make it bile. Then we 
woukl smoke a cigar or two and be ready for what 
breakfast we coukl get. Looking back at it now, the 
wonder is that any of us got welk 

After a time Schenck recovered from his compound 
fracture and went home, and later on Vassallo also. 
Then I was left alone to watch the trees grow outside 
my window. As spring advanced into summer one 
branch spread out and almost covered it. I amused 
myself by sketching this branch each day when I was 
strong enough to do it. Often I was too weak to lift 
my hand, much less use a pencil. Several times the 
doctors gave me up, and though they never told me 
so, I knew when they thought I was going to die by 
the appearance of the chaplain, who never hesitated 
to tell me that I was dying, and also just where I was 
going to bring up after I was dead. Fortunately, I did 
not believe him in either of his statements. One of 
them was clearly wrong, and the other has yet to be 
decided. 

The Powhatan came to Norfolk early in February, 
and I then heard for the first time an accurate account 
of our losses in the Fort Fisher fight. All the officers 
from our ship had been wounded, and out of the sixty- 
two men in my company fifty-four had been either killed 
or wounded. The naval brigade as a whole had been 
y fearfully punished, but we did what was expected of us 
— drew the garrison away from the point selected by 
General Terry for his assault, thereby aiding the army 
to get in. 

Early in June my wounds had healed, and I made 
up my mind to get away from the hospital if I could. 

104 



/ 




After Fort Fisher. 



V 



A Difficult Journey 

I told Milligan, who was a carpenter by trade, to go 
to the carpenter shop and make me a stretcher nar- 
row enough to go in the aisle of a car, and to use a 
hammock to cover it. When he had done it he man- 
aged to get me on the stretcher and cover me with 
a sheet. Then I sent for the surgeon in charge, who 
was so surprised that he fell in with my plan and 
allowed me to go, or rather to be taken, to the Bay 
Line steamer for Baltimore. In fact, he sent Milligan 
with me to take care of me until I reached my home, 
which was then in Philadelphia. I have sometimes 
thought the dear old doctor was very glad to get rid 
of me. I was taken across the harbour in a small 
boat, and nearly drowned in a squall that struck us on 
the way; but we managed to make the steamer finally, 
and here my troubles began again. The stretcher 
would not fit in anywhere! Finally, the captain 
stowed me in the ladies' cabin, where some beautiful 
rebel girls gave me the benefit of their tongues. I 
was as patient under this as I could be, and when we 
got into Chesapeake Bay that night, and they were all 
very seasick, I had my innings. 

On board the steamer I found a company of the 
Twelfth Infantry, who took charge of me and showed 
me every kindness and attention. At Baltimore they 
carried me to the train, but the sergeant in charge of 
the squad concluded that I could go more comfort- 
ably by boat through the canal, so took me there and 
saw me snugly berthed before he left me. At Phila- 
delphia my uncle, who had returned from the South, 
met me with a fireman's ambulance, and I was soon 
comfortably housed and cared for by loving hands. In 

105 



A Sailor's Log 

taking me into the house, on account of a sharp turn 
in the stairs, the stretcher had to be shoved out of a 
second-story window, which alarmed ^lilHgan very 
much, but did not worry me, as I knew nothing 
about it. 

My convalescence was slow and very tedious. My 
right leg had been allowed to contract to such an ex- 
tent that I could not get my foot to the ground, and 
the tendons of my left leg had healed into the wound 
in that leg and seemed very much too short. When I 
stood on my left foot my heel would not come to the 
ground, and when I tried to force it down the pain in 
the calf of my leg was very severe. However, I stuck 
to it, and after a few months the left leg worked fairly 
well. Then I went to duty at the Philadelphia Navy 
Yard, where I remained only a short time, when I was 
ordered to ordnance duty at the Washington yard. 



io6 



CHAPTER X 

SEA SERVICE IN THE ORIENT 

The desire to get back to sea duty was very 
strong, but my condition absolutely forbade it. I 
could not use my right leg, and was compelled to 
walk with crutches. The idea came to me that my 
right knee could be broken again, and my leg set at 
such an angle that I could walk on it. I returned v 
to Philadelphia and consulted Dr. Samuel Gross, who 
made me very happy by saying that he would under- 
take the job. I was soon under chloroform, and the 
operation successfully done. An instrument was put 
on my leg by which it was hoped that the motion of 
my knee might be restored, and I was cautioned to 
work it every day for that purpose. It caused me 
great pain, and after torturing myself with it for a 
year and a half, without any apparent benefit, I buried 
it in the Indian Ocean. 

The question of my promotion now came up, and 
the Medical Board promptly had me placed on the 
retired list, on the ground that I could not perform 
all my duties at sea. There was nothing for it but 
to go to Congress for relief, which I did. Being 
the only officer in the navy retired for wounds re- 
ceived in battle, I was put back on the active list, and 

107 



A Sailor's Log 

shortly afterward advanced some thirty numbers, in 
company with three other classmates. This advance- 
ment was the result of being selected by a Board of 
Admirals, no one of whom I knew; nor did I know 
a single member of Congress, Senator or Represent- 
ative, at the time, yet my promotion caused me 
no end of trouble. 1 have always supposed that it 
was made purely on my record, as I knew nothing 
about it until I was sent for at the Navy Depart- 
ment and there told of it. The following extract 
from the report of Lieutenant-Commander James 
Parker, who was the senior officer on shore in the 
attack on Fort Fisher, was a matter of pride to me 
• as a young officer, and is of interest in this connec- 
tion: 

" Acting Ensign (Regular) R. D. Evans was 
wounded in the leg just after reaching the end of the 
palisade; he bound up the wound with his handker- 
chief, and then pressed on until he fell with a second 
wound in the knee joint. 

" From all I can learn, his bravery and determina- 
tion to enter the fort v.ere equalled by few and ex- 
celled by none. 

*' He now lies in a critical state at the Naval Hos- 
pital, Norfolk." 

After I had been confirmed as a lieutenant, the 
question of sea service once more came to the front, 
and I determined to settle it once for all by going 
to sea and making the eflfort to do all the duties re- 
quired of me. Captain Daniel Ammcii was going out 
to China in command of Admiral Rowan's flagship, 
the Piscataqua, and to him I applied. He very kindly 

1 08 



On the Piscataqua 

asked for my detail to his ship, and my orders were 
made out immediately. 

The Piscataqua was fitting out at Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, and I reported on board of her in 
October, 1867. After several weeks' delay, we sailed 
from Portsmouth for New York, where the ship was 
docked and some necessary work done to complete 
her. She was a new ship, and this was to be her 
maiden voyage. Toward the end of November we 
were finally ready for sea, and anchored off the Bat- 
tery, New York, to await our orders. A violent north- 
east gale came on, with a heavy snowstorm, and in 
the midst of it the apothecary thought it a good time 
to kill himself, which he did by taking poison. Then 
the ship walked away with her anchors during the 
night, and in the morning we had two large schooners 
under our bows with their chains and our own beauti- 
fully twisted together — so effectually, indeed, that it 
took us all day to clear them. The decks were covered 
with snow to an average depth of two feet, and this 
was frozen as hard as a nail, so that there was not 
much comfort on board. However, there is an end 
to all things, and at last, having buried the apothecary, 
who had caused so much trouble, we put to sea. 

In the wardroom we had a splendid mess of twenty- 
three members, and in the steerage we carried nineteen 
midshipmen, just graduated from Annapolis, many of 
them being older than the watch officers. Admiral 
Rowan and Captain Ammen were well known in the 
professional world as officers of great ability and repu- 
tation, without superiors in any service. 

As we passed out by Sandy Hook, the caterer of 
109 



A Sailor's Log 

the midshipmen's mess appealed to the officer of the 
deck to detail some men to find their mess stores, which 
he did. and two barrels of potatoes were dug out of the 
snow, all frozen hard; and these were the only food that 
the youngsters. had provided to last them to Rio. Cap- 
tain Ammen gave them a barrel of peanuts, which, 
with ship's rations, was all they had to rely on. Both 
the admiral and the captain were officers of the old 
school, and believed in old-time methods. 

The midshipmen were stationed in three watches 
and were sent aloft whenever the men went up, and 
were expected to call the officers of the relief w^atches 
and light their candles. The war had broken up many 
of these old customs, and this was the first effort to 
renew them. Of course the youngsters kicked hard, 
but the routine was carried out to the end of the 
cruise, much to the benefit of all concerned. Quite a 
number of the nineteen are still living, all distin- 
guished as excellent officers, and if you should ask 
any one of them he would tell you that this first 
cruise was the making of him. The captain carried a 
case of beautiful duelling pistols which he thought his 
young officers might want to use. 

The Piscataqua was one of those long, narrow pro- 
ductions so much in fashion about the time our civil 
war closed. She had many bad qualities, but no good 
ones. She did, however, serve as an object lesson to 
show the naval constructors what bad work they were 
doing, and helped them to something better. She 
could carry sail well off the wind, and made good 
speed when pressed, but on the wind she could do 
nothing. As a steamer she was a notable failure. 

no 



In Rio Harbour 

When forced, she could do twelve knots in smooth 
water, but while doing it she would fairly shake the 
teeth out of your head. If it had not been for the 
strong diagonal bracing of the hull the stern would 
have dropped off before we reached our destination. 
Fortunately for the comfort of all hands, we sailed 
most of the time, and thus avoided the excessive 
vibrations caused by the screw, which at times really 
prevented any one in the after part of the ship from 
sleeping. 

We stood well out to the eastward, and carried 
good winds down to the Hne, where Father Neptune 
had a hard job, as we were all green hands to him, 
except a few of the older men. After the usual visit — 
dirty soapsuds for shaving and much salt water for 
ducking — he gave us certificates, and we steamed for 
a few days before we caught the welcome trades. 
Once we got them, however, we held them almost to 
our anchorage in Rio Harbour, where we arrived Janu- 
ary 15, 1868, thirty-one days out from New York. 

Rio was, comparatively speaking, free from fever at 
the time of our visit, and we enjoyed it to the utmost. 
The opera, in which Aimee was the star, was very 
good; the restaurants gave us fine food after our sea 
grub, and the suburbs were charming. When we had 
been in port a few days, a Russian practice ship came 
in filled with midshipmen. They and our youngsters 
fraternized on shore, and that evening owned the 
largest theatre in the city. A party of fifteen or 
twenty midshipmen in Russian uniform took charge of 
the stage and ran the performance to suit themselves, 
which did not please the audience; and the result was 

III 



A Sailor's Log 

that all the morning papers had hard words for the 
Russian ship and her crew. During the forenoon of 
the following day all our midshipmen were sent for by 
the admiral and quarantined to the ship. He was the 
only one who had detected our gang in the Russian 
uniforms. 

Leaving Rio January 29th, we ran down to the 
" roaring forties " and squared away for the Cape of 
Good Hope. During this trip we had a good chance 
to see what the ship would do running in a hard gale, 
for we had nothing but gales all the way over. We 
found that she ran fairly well, but was most uncom- 
fortable, rolling from thirty-seven to forty-five de- 
'grees, and keeping it up for days without a let up. 
We fairly rolled our way to the Cape, arriving at Si- 
mon's Town February 19th. We had tried the " brave 
west winds," and were ready to admit that they were 
all that had been claimed for them, and as much more 
as anybody wanted to say; and the seas that came 
with and were made by them were worth a trip around 
the world to see. Coming as they did all the way 
around Cape Horn and across the South Atlantic, 
they ac(iuired a force and grandeur never seen in any 
other part of the world. At times our big ship would 
settle down between two great mountains of water, 
and one involuntarily held his breath for a moment 
until she climbed the side in front of her; and then, as 
she settled down again, the great w'hite-crested follow- 
ing sea raced after her, looking as if it must board her 
and sweep everything before it. 

Each day at noon we threw overboard a bottle 
tightly corked, and containing the latitude and longi- 

112 



A Visit to Cape Town 

tude, with the request that the finder send the slip of 
paper to the Navy Department at Washington, giving 
the location v^here the bottle was found. This was 
done in order to help, if possible, in determining the 
force and direction of ocean currents. In the afternoon 
we usually amused ourselves fishing for albatross. We 
used a blunt-pointed hook, which generally caught 
under the projecting bill, and by keeping a steady 
strain on the fine the beautiful bird was landed on deck 
unhurt. Some of those we caught measured ten feet 
from tip to tip. After robbing them of a few feathers, 
and placing about their necks a brass shield with the 
date and name of the ship, we threw them overboard 
to rejoin their companions. 

The anchorage in Simon's Bay was at times very 
uncomfortable, owing to the heavy sea that set in 
when the winds blew home, which they frequently did. 
It was selected in preference to Cape Town because 
at that season of the year the prevailing winds were 
supposed to be more favourable for boating, but we 
all agreed that it was rough enough where we were. 
Frequently all hands in a boat would land or reach 
the ship thoroughly soaked with salt water. 

The trip around to Cape Town was a very delight- 
ful one, and I made it several times. Part of the way 
■we drove on a beautiful firm beach, and then took the 
road over some picturesque mountains, where the scen- 
ery was very characteristic of South Africa. We usu- 
ally rested and had breakfast at the Halfway House, 
and then jogged along slowly through the grape dis- 
trict, stopping now and then to enjoy the delicious 
fruit, or maybe a glass or bottle of the excellent wine 

113 



A Sailor's Log 

made hereabouts. On arriving at Cape Town, we al- 
ways went to the Royal Hotel, where we were well 
treated, and found the food most enjoyable after our 
sea fare of hard-tack and " salt horse." Once I joined a 
party for a trip to Table Mountain, from which we had 
a magnificent view of all the surrounding country and 
the coast for many miles. For once in my life I drank 
Bass ale when it was perfect — all the surroundings 
conspired to make it so. I was dead tired when lunch 
time came, and the ale was brought on, not too cold, 
with cold roast beef and cheese. I have often said 
that it was worth the price of this trip to know how 
good ale could be when it was at its best. We left 
Simon's Town, after a stay of ten days, with sincere 
regret, and started for our long and tedious run across 
the Indian Ocean. 

We could not carry coal enough to steam the 
whole distance, and therefore relied on our canvas, 
which made the trip pleasanter and more interesting 
than it would otherwise have been. Officers and men 
soon shook down into their places, and the healthy 
rivalry that does so much to make our service what 
it is showed itself. Each watch was ready to wager 
anything that it could make sail or reduce it to a 
squall in half the time the other could, and the gun 
divisions had the same feeling. We were drilled con- 
stantly, as the admiral would not tolerate any but 
the very best work, particularly with the guns. He 
had a fashion of coming out of his cabin in the middle 
of the night and, without previous warning to any 
one, ordering the alarm for general quarters sounded. 
On such occasions he would order a shot or shell fired 

114 



A Quick Shot 

from each gun in the battery, carefully taking the 
time himself, and the last one to fire usually heard some 
very plain words from him. 

One night I was the officer of the deck when he 
had an exercise of this kind, and one of my guns 
fired the first shot. It was fired just as I reached 
the gun and before things were ready, and caused 
considerable trouble by parting side tackles and other 
gear. Several minutes elapsed before another gun 
was fired, and the officers of the other divisions 
claimed that my gun captain had obtained his car- 
tridge by unfair means, while I myself was satisfied 
that the gun had really been fired before the magazine 
was opened; but of course I said nothing about it, 
and stood up for my man, praising his promptness. 
After a few days he told me all about it: he had 
the cartridge in his hammock, where he had carried 
it since the last exercise, determined to be among 
the first. The powder boy swore that he got the 
cartridge from the powder division and carried it to 
the gun and handed it to the loader. He even re- 
membered particulars: how the man in the powder 
division had said to him, " You are pretty d — d quick 
this time!" How could you doubt such evidence? Of 
course, it was all right, and the gun had been properly 
loaded and fired. 

After a very pleasant run across the Indian Ocean 
we passed Java Head and hurried on to Singapore, 
where the Hartford was waiting for us to relieve her; 
and it was here that we had the first news of Admiral 
Bell's death. He had been drowned at Osaka, in 
Japan, while attempting to cross the bar in his barge. 

115 



A Sailor's Locr 

o 

The sea was breaking very heavily, and, before leav- 
ing the ship, the danger was pointed out to him; but 
the ministers were in peril on shore, and he decided 
to take the chance, and so lost his life. The boats of 
the ship were prepared as soon as he shoved of¥, so 
confident were the officers that he would come to 
grief, and the moment his barge was capsized they 
were hurried to the rescue, and succeeded in saving 
most of the crew. 

Singapore proved a charming place to me. The 
people were most hospitably disposed, and the mode 
of living well suited to the climate. For the first time 
in my life I tasted real curry. Of course I had eaten 
the rice paste, served in the United States with its 
offensive hot yellow gravy, but here in Singapore we 
had the real thing — fresh curry powder each day, rice 
that was like a pile of snow flakes, Bombay duck, a 
flat, dried fish baked crisp, and Borneo red fish. When 
prepared like tliis, one has the finest breakfast dish 
in the world, and one that can be had only in the 
tropics, because only there can the fresh curry powder 
be obtained, and without that you can't have real 
curry. We also had for the first time the mangosteen, 
which some one has described as strawberries and 
peaches and cream mixed; but the description only 
gives a faint idea of the excellence of the fruit. Of 
course, all other tropical fruits were in abundance, and 
the people of Singapore knew how to serve them. All 
our spare time was given to enjoying the hospitality 
which the people were most lavish in extending to us, 
and we went on our way to Hong-Kong with much 
regret and many hopes that we might soon be back. 

1 16 



Chinese Pirates 

We had been sent to the East with orders to pun- 
ish the natives of Formosa for their ill treatment of 
some shipwrecked Americans, and we were all ready 
for the job — organized, armed, and equipped; but be- 
fore we arrived the afifair had been settled by Admiral 
Bell, so we were saved the trouble, A large force had 
been landed, and a fight resulted, in which Lieutenant- 
Commander Mackenzie had lost his life, he being the 
only man killed. 

When we arrived at Hong-Kong piracy prevailed 
to such an extent that the admiral sent Gushing in 
the Maumee to look after the pirates and break them 
up. As this was a good chance for service, I volun- 
teered for the trip, but Captain Ammen decided that 
I was wanted on board the flagship, and my appli- 
cation was returned to me disapproved. I had set- 
tled the question of being able to do all my duties 
at sea by this time, and was very anxious to have 
this cruise on a small, lively vessel to clinch the mat- 
ter; but it was not to be. I argued and begged hard, 
but the captain maintained that my services were re- 
quired where I was. Cushing went after the pirates, 
and in a few days they began to arrive at Hong-Kong 
by the dozen. He found, as we all suspected he 
would, that every Chinese junk was a pirate when it 
suited the owner to be so. The war junks were the 
worst of the lot. So Cushing ran in everything that 
he came across, and only stopped when the authorities 
asked that he be recalled, as he was capturing the en- 
tire Chinese merchant fleet, China had no navy then 
outside of her fleet of junks, armed with old smooth- 
bore guns and stinkpots. Her ports were all fairly 

117 



A Sailor's Log 

well defended by forts, and on these she relied for 
protection, 

Hong-Kong I found an ideal place for defence. 
The EngHsh certainly showed their wisdom in select- 
ing it as their base of supplies in China. When we 
arrived there it was garrisoned by two English and 
several Indian regiments, all excellent troops, and kept 
up to the highest standard of efficiency. Socially, 
Hong-Kong was the best place on the station, but 
only endurable in the winter months; in summer the 
heat was intense, and all sorts of sickness prevailed, in- 
cluding the plague. The fine race track at Happy 
Valley and the resort on the signal station hill, particu- 
larly the latter, were patronized by all hands. Two 
Chinamen with a sedan chair would trot you up to 
this place about as fast as a horse could go, and in 
a cool evening a visit and dinner here were sure to be 
enjoyed. There was one hotel in Hong-Kong at this 
time, and it was anything but good; but the English 
Club was excellent, and always open to us. The cus- 
tom of inviting newcomers to visit the large business 
houses had not yet died out, and there was, in conse- 
quence, no demand for large hotel accommodations. 
The roads were excellent, as is always the case in 
places under English control, and I made many excur- 
sions in the suburbs either by chair or wheeled vehicle. 

The Chinese population seemed happy and prosper- 
ous, but given to gambling to an extent that I never 
saw before. I often visited the gambling shops fre- 
quented by the high-caste Chinese, and was much inter- 
ested in watching the play. Fan-tan was the game, and 
it was not unusual to see a Chinaman bet his wife after 

ii8 



Thieving Boatmen 

having lost everything else. Judging from the ap- 
pearance of the women, the only wonder was that 
the banker could place a value low enough on them. 
Like all Chinese coast cities, there was a large fishing 
population; by that I mean people who lived and had 
their homes on the water, the women and children not 
being allowed to visit the shore except at certain 
specified times. The men were allowed to land where 
they had employment, but not otherwise, except at 
stated times and places. When they had landed the 
boats were shoved off and went about their business 
until time for the men to embark, when the boats were 
allowed to come in and take them off. The water 
police were expected to look after all these people 
and keep them in order. My observation was that the 
water population was justly noted as expert boatmen 
and thieves. You could trust yourself in one of their 
boats in any kind of weather, and be very certain that 
they would steal from you every movable thing on 
your person. On one occasion they stripped the cop- 
per off one entire side of a Pacific mail steamer in 
one night, while she was lying at her dock, and not a 
soul on board heard even a suspicious noise. 

When bad weather came many of these sampans, as 
they were called, were wrecked, and many lives lost. 
To prevent the loss of life as much as possible, all the 
children had small wooden buoys made fast to their 
bodies. I once saw an entire family driven overboard 
in a curious way. A Chinese bumboatman brought to 
our ship a very large monkey, or ape, which he offered 
for sale. It was a ferocious-looking beast, very wild 
and vicious; but the maintopmen concluded that they 

9 119 



A Sailor's Log 

wanted him for the starboard gangway, and so pur- 
chased him. He was brought on board at supper time 
with a short length of chain and a stout leather collar 
about his neck. Jacky thought it well to give him his 
first lesson in discipline, so he ran the chain through a 
ringbolt in the deck, and, having pulled the ape's head 
close down to it, was giving him a good sound thrash- 
ing with a broom handle, when the collar broke, and 
the ape at once ran up the main rigging and took pos- 
session of the maintop. Several men tried to get into 
the top, but it was impossible for them to do it, so 
fierce were the attacks of the enraged beast. At last 
he was allowed to remain in charge with the hope that 
he would be in a better humour in the morning. Dur- 
ing the night, however, he cast loose the bunt gaskets 
of the maintopsail, and at daylight the officer of the 
deck found the sail hanging from the yard. Of course, 
this would not do, and several men were sent up to 
restow the sail. The ape grabbed the first head that 
appeared in the top and yanked out a handful of hair, 
nearly scalping the man in the process. The second 
man was severely bitten, and the others retreated to 
the deck. At this time Captain Ammen came on 
deck, having been aroused by the unusual commotion, 
and, seeing the conditions, ordered the ape to be shot. 
While the gunner's mate was getting a rifle, however, 
the ape walked out on the main yard, grinning defiance 
to all hands. As soon as he was well out on the yard 
the braces were manned, the yard quickly swung 
around, and the beast fell overboard. As soon as he 
came to the surface he swam to a Chinese boat lying 
near, pulled himself on board, and was soon in com- 

120 



A . Disappointing " System " 

mand of the craft. The Chinese family of eight or 
ten persons never disputed possession for a moment, 
but bolted overboard and swam for the nearest boat. 
The last we saw of the captured boat as she drifted off 
to leeward the ape was industriously throwing over- 
board everything he could lay hands on. 

Our stay at Hong-Kong was not a very long one, 
but we had sufficient time to make a number of very 
interesting excursions; two of them I recall. A party 
of us — youngsters, of course — figured out a scheme by 
which we could beat the Chinese gambling game known 
as " fan-tan." Our system was carefully gone over, and 
the more we examined it the more certain it appeared 
that we had only to play long enough in order to 
amass great wealth. Finally, we made our plans to 
go to the Portuguese city of Macao, some fifty miles 
away, and clean out the gambling shops there first, as 
they were reputed to be more wealthy than the Chinese 
dens in Hong-Kong, and wealth was what we were 
after. Some of our shipmates heard of our scheme, and, 
being convinced of the soundness of our system, in- 
trusted us with various sums to be invested for their 
interest — the foundation of their fortunes, as it were. 
Four of us finally set out on this important excursion, 
reached Macao safely, and, having secured comfortable 
rooms at one of the best hotels, began our breaking 
process on one of the large gambling houses. For a 
time we did well, and it really looked as if we were 
going to get the best of the game; but the banker 
eventually struck the weak point in the system, and 
we went home at 3 a. m. with just money enough to 
pay our hotel bill and our fare back to Hong Kong. 

121 



A Sailor's Log 

We did not hear the last of that expedition for many 
a long day. 

Quite a i)arty of us, young and old, went to Can- 
ton, and there spent several days looking over that 
interesting old city. There were no hotels, so we 
chartered a flower boat, in which we were fairly com- 
fortable at night; the days we spent sightseeing. I 
was most interested, I think, in the capital punish- 
ments as illustrated in the Temple of Horrors by full- 
sized wax figures. There were hundreds of them, and 
the authorities had certainly exercised great ingenuity 
in devising plans for making the victim sufifer for long 
periods of time before actually ending his life. The 
theory of them all seemed to be that an ofifender 
should be made to suffer for his offence, and finally 
to pay the penalty of his life for the crime he had 
committed; but the first idea was that he should suf- 
fer, and suffer long and cruelly. In carrying out this 
idea they had certainly shown wonderful ability, and 
had drawn freely on the experience and practice of 
all the nations with whom they had come in contact. 
Among all the punishments illustrated there was not 
a single one shown that caused instant death to the 
victim. The one most in use was that by which the 
suffering was the longest drawn out. 

I was also interested in meeting, in the heart of the 
city, in one of the narrow streets where two chairs could 
scarcely pass each other, a young man with all the out- 
ward signs of a Chinaman except the colour of his skin, 
and yet who was evidently an Anglo-Saxon. He had 
the dress of the country and the long pigtail hair of a 
Chinaman, and was talking fluently with the natives 

122 



Smoking Opium 

in their own dialect, but he was, in fact, a young 
CathoHc priest. I found afterward that there were a 
number of them, not only in Canton, but in other Chi- 
nese cities, living as this young man was among the 
people, really one of them. They encountered untold 
hardships and privations, but they met with success 
in their calling, and the progress of so-called civiliza- 
tion in the East is marked by their graves. Their 
right, moral or legal, to do the things they were doing 
is a question each man must settle for himself; but 
that they caused much trouble and the loss of thou- 
sands of human lives is a fact that can not be disputed. 
How many souls they saved is a question that can be 
settled only at the last roll-call. That the Catholics, 
however, lived nearer the people and had more influ- 
ence with them for good or for evil than any other de- 
nomination, was plain to me. I am not a Catholic. 
Before returning to Hong-Kong we desired to 
smoke opium Chinese fashion, that we might know 
from practical experience what the sensation was like. 
We borrowed a few Chinese experts from the flower 
boat of a nobleman lying near us, and after due prepa- 
ration proceeded to smoke. The expert who was giv- 
ing me his attention prepared a small pill of the opium 
mixture, and placed it over the pin hole in the pipe, 
which takes the place of the ordinary bowl. When 
T had managed to get the large stem of the pipe into 
my mouth, he applied a red-hot iron to the opium, 
and the smoking began. I inhaled three whififs of the 
smoke, which was all the small pill produced, and 
then I was very sorry I had done it. All the fine 
dreams and hallucinations which I had been led to 

123 



A Sailor's Log 

expect and did really expect to experience, were miss- 
ing, and in their stead I was genuinely seasick — nau- 
seated until I could neither eat, sleep, nor stay awake. 
The sensation lasted for several days, notwithstanding 
the large amount of strong tea and coffee I drank, 
not to mention other liquids. I was quickly and thor- 
oughly cured of my desire to smoke or take opium in 
any form. 

After a short stay at Hong-Kong we proceeded on 
our way up the coast of China, bound to Yokohama, 
Japan. W'e stopped at Amoy, where I had the pleas- 
ure of meeting an old friend, a missionary, who had 
been my rector in Washington. I called on him and 
listened to a very eloquent sermon on Sunday. The 
small chapel was well filled with the foreign element 
of the settlement, and they appeared to enjoy the ser- 
mon; while the native converts, four in number, 
worked the punka from the outside of the building, and 
fanned us while we prayed. Afterward we dined at a 
comfortable stone house, on a bluff overlooking the sea, 
where the converts were again in evidence, this time 
serving the table in a most beautiful and noiseless way. 



124 



CHAPTER XI 

STORMY DAYS IN JAPAN 

Upon our arrival at Yokohama we found most of 
the American squadron, as well as a fair number of 
war ships of other nations, assembled. The Stone- 
wall had crossed the Pacific under command of that 
excellent seaman Captain George Brown, of the navy, 
and was waiting to be turned over to the Tycoon; but 
he was engaged in a deadly struggle with the forces of 
the Mikado, and no one could foresee how the great 
revolution of 1867 would terminate. The throne of 
Japan, and, as it afterward turned out, the fate of the 
country, hung in the balance, while Japanese soldiers 
fought in the streets of Yeddo, and unsuccessful offi- 
cers promptly committed hara-kiri. The vessels of 
the squadron were at once put in condition for active 
service, owing to the avowed purpose of the Mikado 
to drive all foreigners out of Japan when he had sub- 
dued the Tycoon. Admiral Rowan was not the man 
to allow American interests or citizens to suffer, and 
his recent experience in the civil war fitted him ad- 
mirably for the important position he was filling. 
Nearly every officer under his command had had war 
service, and all were ready for any job that might 
turn up. 

125 



A Sailor's Log 

We were deeply interested in our surroundings, 
but found it difficult to take seriously the war per- 
formances of the Japanese. Their army was organized 
as it had been for a hundred years, and commanded, 
as had been the custom, by the Damios, or feudal 
lords, each one supporting and leading his particular 
band of followers. They were armed with every con- 
ceivable kind of ancient weapon, and all wore the long, 
heavy Japanese sword, the officers being each pro- 
vided with two. The Mikado had one or two batteries 
of Whitworth field guns, but their use was little un- 
derstood. All were in the ancient uniform of Japan, 
and presented a curious contrast to the nut-brown 
Confederates and blue-coated Federals, whose sharp 
work we had been accustomed to see. The Japanese 
navy was entirely in the hands of the Tycoon, and con- 
sisted of a few old-fashioned sailing craft, under the 
command of Admiral Ennymoto, a lion-hearted old 
seaman, who was sure always to give a good account 
of himself. The officers generally were brave and 
courteous, but, as military men, about one hundred 
years behind the European standard. The enlisted 
men were brave, barbarous, hardy little brown chaps, 
capable of vast improvement. 

Under the circumstances it can be readily under- 
stood why the Stonewall, a modern ironclad built by 
the French for the late Confederate government, was 
regarded with so much anxiety, and so eagerly sought 
by each side in the war. It can also be seen why we, 
fresh from the greatest war of modern times, should 
feel little concern over this Falstaffian array of Japa- 
nese braves. If the Mikado succeeded in securing the 

126 



A Threatened Attack 

Stonewall, his avowed purpose was to drive the foreign 
ships out of Japanese waters, and we all hoped that 
he might get her in order to try the experiment — 
otherwise our sympathies were all with the Tycoon and 
his brave old admiral. 

While the fighting continued in and about the city 
of Yeddo, a large foreign fleet was kept constantly in 
Yokohama Bay. When the Tycoon's forces were 
cleared out of that vicinity, the danger became even 
greater, and the number of foreign ships was increased. 
We were told many times of what the Mikado meant 
to do to us; but as he had failed to do any of these 
things, we naturally grew incredulous, and maybe 
somewhat careless. At last, however, news came 
through the American minister that sent a thrill of 
excitement through the entire foreign fleet. The Japs, 
so the story ran, had prepared a very formidable boat 
expedition in Yeddo, and were coming down on a 
certain night to cut out the Stonewall and carry her 
away. Their preparations were reported to be com- 
plete, and there was to be a very large force em- 
ployed. On receipt of this news most of the foreign 
ships got under way and anchored well out in the 
bay, where they would be free to manoeuvre when 
the dreaded ironclad should attack them. Admiral 
Rowan, who had spent many days within four hun- 
dred yards of Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbour, 
in the New Ironsides, believed in fighting at close 
quarters; and therefore, after clearing his ships for 
action, anchored them about the Stonewall in such 
positions as could best command the approach to her, 
and at the same time be ready to sink her if the 

127 



A Sailor's Log 

Yeddo force really succeeded in gaining possession 
of her. 

When it was dark all the American ships went to 
general quarters and prepared for battle. The men 
stood by their guns ready to open fire, while a sharp 
lookout was kept for the hostile Japanese boats. An 
ofificer was sent on board the Stonewall with orders to 
remove parts of her machinery, so that she could not 
get under way, and then to take station on her turret 
and signal the approach of the boats, when the fleet 
would open with grape and canister. I remember well 
how this of^cer felt as he sat on top of the turret, torch 
in hand, waiting to make the signal. There was an 
open scuttle near his feet, which he was prepared to 
use quickly at the f^ash of the first gun. Fortunately 
for all concerned, the authorities saw what our prepa- 
rations meant, and wisely determined to wait until 
they could gain peaceable possession of the vessel, 
which they eventually did, after giving suitable guar- 
antees for her conduct. 

When conditions permitted, we started for the 
south, intending to stop at such Japanese ports as we 
were permitted to visit en route. These were Kobe 
and Nagasaki, and three miles inland w*as our limit, 
which rule also applied at Yokohama. From Kobe, our 
first stopping place, I visited Osaka, a newly opened 
port, and the place where Admiral Bell had lately lost 
his life. 

Dr. H. S. Pitkin, one of our assistant surgeons, 
and I obtained three days' leave, and thoroughly 
enjoyed every hour of it. There was not such a 
thing as a hotel known at Osaka, but we managed 

128 



Curios and Coins 

to find two rooms in which we could sleep and store 
our plunder; the days we spent cruising about over 
the queer old town, buying such curios as struck our 
fancy. Lacquered ware, rare and old and valuable, 
was offered to us at every turn for almost nothing. 
We were among the first visitors, and the market had 
not yet been spoiled by the rich globe-trotter. The 
simple and honest natives offered their goods to us at 
the same price they sold them to their own people, 
and I am sure our customs officers would have grown 
green with envy if they had seen the things we pur- 
chased, which, by the way, they never did. 

Pitkin was an enthusiastic collector of coins, and 
during our first day's ramble we came across an old 
Japanese merchant who had followed the same line 
all his life. He showed us his collection with great 
pride, and well he might, for it was one of the finest 
in Japan, containing about one thousand coins, a few 
of them dating before the time of Christ. The old 
man had no intention of parting with them at any 
price, but the doctor wanted them and wanted them 
badly; in fact, had made up his mind to have them. 
That night we counted up our funds, and found 
that we could spare one hundred Mexican dollars for 
the purchase. The next day we made the offer, which 
was poUtely refused. Then we stacked the silver dol- 
lars up in ten piles, and then in twenty, and then scat- 
tered them about, making them ring as much as pos- 
sible. Meanwhile the merchant eyed the money, and 
each time we stacked it up we could see a change in 
his face. In the end the silver won the day, and the 
coins, case and all, were taken to our rooms, where the 

129 



A Sailor's Log 

old man went over them for the last time, and tear- 
fully left us in possession of what it had taken him a 
lifeiime to collect. We could exchanc^e our silver for 
Japanese gold, weight for weight, at that time. What 
we had ofTfered him was probably more money than he 
had ever seen before at one time. The value of the 
collection was very great. It is now the property of 
one of our leading universities. 

On our arrival at Nagasaki, which we reached by 
way of the beautiful inland sea, we found the city 
crowded with Japanese troops of the Mikado party. 
The English flagship was present, and there was much 
excitement over the killing of two of her men. A 
party of soldiers had found them on shore somewhat 
the worse for liquor, and at once cut their heads off, 
left their bodies in the gutter, and put the heads on 
the curbstone in front of the consul's house. The 
admiral demanded immediate satisfaction, which he 
of course received; but as the same thing was liable to 
happen to any foreign officer or man who was caught 
on shore at night, the prospect was not pleasing. The 
governor of the province represented to Admiral 
Rowan that our officers would be safe if they wore 
two swords — that all Japanese officers wore two, and 
that only enlisted men were one-swordmen. The ad- 
miral replied that he could arrange matters in a simpler 
and more satisfactory way, and immediately issued an 
order that all officers visiting the shore should wear in 
their belts a loaded Remington breech-loading pistol, 
and if upon meeting a Japanese soldier he carried his 
hand to his sword hilt, they were to shoot him at once. 
This was done because the sword was never un- 

130 



Japanese Honesty 

sheathed except for use; a Japanese who drew his 
sword and returned it without drawing blood was dis- 
graced. A copy of this order, with a letter of explana- 
tion, was sent to the governor, and though we re- 
mained many weeks in Nagasaki, none of us were ever 
molested. 

The contrast between the Japanese and their 
neighbours, the Chinese, was at this time very strik- 
ing and vastly in favour of the former people. Since 
then it has become even more marked. The leading 
characteristic of the Japanese was honesty. It was in 
striking contrast with the trickiness, not to say dis- 
honesty, of the Chinese as a race. During my whole 
stay in Japan I was constantly tramping about the 
country, shooting or wandering over strange cities, 
picking up curios here and there. In all my experi- 
ence I never had anything stolen from me, though at 
times I intrusted articles of all sorts to the first small 
boy I met on the street, to be delivered to my boat 
or at my hotel, often miles away. Every article was 
promptly and carefully delivered. If such an experi- 
ment had been tried in China, everything would have 
been stolen. 

When out shooting I generally had with me a 
Japanese lad of eighteen or nineteen years of age, and 
we frequently went far beyond the three-mile limit 
which was supposed to fence us in; but uniform kind- 
ness and courtesy were what I always received from 
the people among whom I found myself. A few words 
of explanation from my faithful boy always secured 
such food as they had, and frequently quarters for the 
night. The houses even of the poorest classes were 

131 



A Sailor's Log 

always scrupulously clean, while those of the Chinese 
were exactly the opposite. The Chinaman was a 
dandy in dress, but personally vilely dirty, while the 
Jai)anese was plainly dressed, but in person as clean 
and neat as soap and water could make him. The Chi- 
nese had a certain shrewd imitativeness which was 
much misunderstood, and even taken by many persons 
for an indication of genius. The Japanese, as a peo- 
ple, had the genius of progress and expansion, with 
the result that in thirty years from the time of which 
1 am writing they have advanced by steady strides, 
until they hold a ])roud place among the leading na- 
tions. In that short space of time they have organ- 
ized an army which is second only to the German in 
its general staff, and armed as well as the best. Its 
fighting ability was shown in a winter campaign 
against the Chinese, which elicited the admiration of 
all military critics. At the same time their navy be- 
came the wonder of modern times in its phenomenal 
development. It is true that the magnificent ships 
were, many of them, paid for in borrowed money or 
bonds; but the way they fight their guns and handle 
their fleet will prevent any sudden foreclosing of mort- 
gages by foreign countries. To-day they have as fine 
docks and dockyards as any nation, and can build 
and arm their own ships. When one thinks that all 
this has been done in less than thirty years, the con- 
clusion can not be avoided that Japan has broken the 
record in expansion, and must be seriously considered 
in any future settlement of the Eastern question. 

I had occasion to witness some of the capital pun- 
ishments of Japan. When we first visited the country 

132 



An Execution 

the theft of more than thirty dollars' worth of any- 
thing was considered sufficient ground for beheading 
the thief. I saw one of these executions when four 
men had their heads cut ofT for various offences. One 
of them was a young boatman who had often served 
me in my shooting trips about Yokohama Bay. The 
execution ground was a cleared space in the edge of a 
wood on the side of the public road four or five miles 
from Yokohama, and was in no way screened from 
the view of the public. When I arrived on the spot, 
about sunrise, everything was in readiness for the exe- 
cution. Four small pits were dug in the ground and 
the earth excavated from them neatly levelled ofif, and 
a bucket of water placed near each. The judges who 
sentenced the men to death sat in a row in front of these 
pits and about fifteen feet away. The executioner, 
who had cut off more than one thousand heads, was 
in attendance, and very proud of his sword, the keen 
edge of which he examined from time to time. The 
hilt was carefully wrapped with very fine white linen. 
The populace — men, women, and children — stood 
about the inclosure and conversed in low tones. The 
four condemned men were brought to the spot, and 
quickly seated opposite the pits with their legs crossed 
under them tailor fashion. The executioner advanced 
to the man on the left of the line, held the heavy, keen- 
edged sword over his neck for a moment, and then, 
bringing his left hand up to the long hilt or handle, gave 
the sword a sharp, quick, downward jerk toward him 
and the man was dead. The head fell into the pit, the 
trunk dropping forward; the blood from the body was 
discharged into the same place. Stepping quickly to 

133 



A Sailor's Log 

tlie second man, his head dropped off the same way, 
and so on to the third and fourth. The four men 
were dead inside of two minutes after they were seated 
near the pits. Then an attendant stepped up to the 
first pit, took the head by tlic hair, dowsed it into 
the bucket of water, which removed all blood stains, 
and then held it up, the face toward the judges, who 
nodded in token that the man was dead. The head 
was then placed on a post by the side of the road, as 
were the others after each had been subjected to the 
inspection of the judges, and here they remained under 
guard for three days as a warning to others. The 
bodies were doubled up, placed in coarse bags, and 
buried on the spot. The whole job was businesslike 
and quickly performed. 

If there is anything in public executions calcu- 
lated to deter others from committing crime, Japan 
certainly has the correct method. What I saw on 
this occasion was in striking contrast to the hang- 
ing method as practised in most of the States in 
America. These poor Japanese convicts were killed 
as quickly as possible, and that they experienced no 
pain was evident from a glance at the dead faces, 
each one of which bore a smile. The mode of execu- 
tion was meant to be quick and merciful, just the 
opposite of the Chinese method. I could not help 
thinking that it was far ahead of our practice, where 
a poor devil is sung over and prayed over for days, 
then marched to the scafTold, offered time to address 
the few newspaper correspondents and prison officials 
present, and then choked to death. Electrocution, 
which is now the legal process in some States, is more 

134 



Indifference to Death 

merciful, but even the electric spark is slow in pro- 
ducing death when compared with severing the spinal 
column by the keen edge of a Japanese sword in the 
hands of a man expert in its use. The interval be- 
tween the time when the man is in full possession of 
all his faculties and when he is stone dead is incon- 
ceivably small. When the men who were executed 
at the time of which I have just written were brought 
on to the execution ground, the young boatman who 
attended me so often looked up at me and smilingly 
said, ** Good-bye." The Japanese have no fear of 
death, and in this one characteristic alone I found them 
like the Chinese. This young boatman had, while 
under the influence of too much saki, a Japanese 
liquor made from rice, overhauled a countryman near 
Yokohama and pulled him from his chair, which he 
appropriated for himself and rode in it to the city. 
He was charged with highway robbery, and though I 
did all in my power to save him he was convicted, sen- 
tenced, and executed. 



135 



CHAPTER XII 

m 

HONG-KONG AND THE PHILIPPINES 

After leaving Nagasaki, which we did witli great 
regret, we anchored in Hong-Kong once more. Our 
men had not yet been granted shore leave generally, 
and, as this seemed a favourable place for the purpose, 
they were sent on shore by watches, starboard watch 
one day and port watch the next, as was then the 
custom in the service. Naturally, trouble quickly fol- 
lowed. The American Jacky has no love and little 
respect for a policeman. The absurd-looking Mo- 
hammedan policeman of the Hong-Kong force ex- 
cited his mirth, and when he had secured a sufficient 
number of drinks he proceeded to have fun with him. 
In a short time the turbans and clubs were all in pos- 
session of the sailors, and it was not until an English 
regiment had beeh put on duty that they were cor- 
ralled on the dock. Then they fought out their per- 
sonal diflkulties, and were brought on IxKU'd much 
battered and the worse for wear, but having had. as 
they claimed, *' a bang-up good time." Five or six 
months more on board ship fitted them excellently for 
just such another spree, and they had it when the 
time came. Fortunately, we do things difTcrcntly now. 

Among my other possessions I was the happy 
136 



With English Officers 

owner of a fine bull terrier — " Jowler " — who could 
whip any dog in China; at least he had whipped every 
one that had fought with him. He was a great pet 
with every one on board ship, from the admiral down, 
and was really a finely bred, beautifully trained dog. 
J 1 all the shore riots and pleasures he was an important 
cei/t. The men would come to the mast and ask for 
shore leave for him just as they did for themselves. 
They always saw to it that he whipped everything he 
came in contact with, man or beast, and the result was 
that he would tackle a whole menagerie, if the chance 
offered. After shore leave he generally went into the 
hands of the doctor, along with Jacky, to have his 
cuts sewed up and needed repairs made before he ap- 
peared on deck. 

Our relations with the English military people 
were strictly official during the earlier days of the 
cruise, owing to the bitter feeling engendered by the 
position of the English Government during the civil 
war; but a hint from their Government changed all 
this and we became very friendly. They were courte- 
ous, hospitable gentlemen, and we enjoyed their mess 
dinners wonderfully. On their part they always 
seemed willing to come to us and make a night of it 
whenever we were ready. On the 226. of February 
we gave the finest entertainment we had so far at- 
tempted, seating over one hundred guests, most of 
them foreign officers. We broke up at i a. m., after 
a beautiful evening long to be remembered. One of 
our English army guests jumped overboard and swam 
ashore, where I delivered his sword and cap to him 
the next day over a glass of brandy and soda. Long 

137 



A Sailor's Log 

years afterward I met him at the United Service Club 
in London, old and dignified, and looking as if he had 
never been young. He did, however, cheer up over 
another glass of brandy and soda and the old Hong- 
Kong episode. 

From Hong-Kong we ran down to Manila to have 
a look at the Spaniards and their great Eastern colony. 
Owing to the size of our ship, now named the Dela- 
ware, we had to anchor well out in the bay, and visit- 
ing the shore was quite an undertaking; but once on 
shore we found ourselves well repaid for our trouble. 

The city was beautiful, and under Spanish military 
rule very safe, and on the surface clean and orderly. The 
cafes were excellent, and the music of the bands in the 
afternoon made the Lunetta a favourite promenade. 
All Manila turned out to look at each other, in which 
it did not differ from any other city where people had 
so little to do. The markets were good, there being 
at all seasons fine fish and splendid tropical fruits in 
abundance, principal among which was the mango- 
steen, that queen of all fruits. The tobacco was of that 
peculiar light quality which grows on a smoker's taste. 
We were all slaves to cheroots before the cruise was 
over. 

The Spanish authorities gave us a ball, which was 
largely attended, and added much to the enjoyment 
of our visit. We, of course, returned the compli- 
ment and had the pleasure of meeting on board 
our ship not only all the officials and their families, 
but also some of the better class of natives — mesti- 
zos, as they are called — who danced and behaved 
generally most becomingly. The ladies were shod 

138 



Sport in China 

with sandals only, which gave one a good view of their 
beautiful feet. After a delightful visit of two weeks 
we again sailed down the grand bay of Manila, little 
dreaming that an American admiral would one day 
make it celebrated in the annals of naval warfare by 
showing to the world what destruction modern ships 
and modern guns could cause when properly handled. 

We returned to Hong-Kong, and, as the hot 
season approached, retraced our way toward Japan 
and the north. The two leading elements in all efforts 
to civilize so-called barbarous natives — cards and 
whisky — were in full blast in all the ports we visited, 
except Kobe, where they had not yet had time to take 
root. One had only to stick to the two long enough 
and he was sure to be ruined, for the card players were 
expert and the whisky was bad. My tastes ran rather 
toward out-of-door sports — boating, shooting, and 
fishing — and I found my amusement in this line; not 
that I did not drink and gamble somewhat — I could 
not afford to be so much out of the fashion — but most 
of my spare time was given to athletics. The shoot- 
ing all along the coast was excellent; snipe always on 
the marshes, easy to get at, and delicious for the table. 
Golden pheasants were in great numbers only a short 
distance from Shanghai, and a house-boat party after 
them was one of the pleasantest sprees one could have. 
We killed them sometimes as many as one hundred 
to the gun per day. The natives were not allowed 
to use firearms, and the game in consequence was 
plentiful and easy to get. 

The trapping of all sorts of wild things by both 
Chinese and Japanese was very skilfully done, par- 

139 



A Sailor's Log 

ticularly so by the Chinese, who would at any time 
bring us all the teal ducks or snipe we wanted alive 
from their traps. They were not yet sufficiently 
civilized to charge us three prices for things, so 
that we lived reasonably well at a very moderaate 
cost. The Japanese caught most of their game with 
a gum which they called torri-mouchi. Even deer were 
caught in this way; any bird or animal that touched 
it was sure to stick fast until it was removed by 
cutting off the foot. I never tried the gum, but I 
certainly had some wonderful days in Japan w'ith my 
gun. My favourite sport was snipe-shooting, but I 
sometimes went after ducks and waders, such as cur- 
lew and plover, and when such occasions offered, our 
wardroom table was sure to be good for some days 
afterward. 

Once only did I meet with any mishap. Two 
companions, officers of the ship, were with me, when 
one of them, in his anxiety to kill all the plover 
that were in a flock, got me in range with them and 
loaded me up pretty well with shot. Fortunately, 
none of them struck about my eyes, and half an hour's 
careful work with a sharp knife removed them all. 
The officer was dreadfully mortified, and I really be- 
lieve suffered more than I did. On another occasion 
the marine officer, a very fat, heavy man, walked into 
a quicksand while we were shooting snipe and came 
near losing his life. I found him when he had sunk 
in up to his armpits, and my boatman and I had all 
we could do to pull him out. 

My boating experiences would make a very long 
story were I to tell them all. The admiral's barge, a 

140 



Boat Racing 

fourteen-oared cutter, was built at the New York 
Navy Yard, and it was soon seen that she was a very 
fast boat, both under sail and oars. I was very fond 
of racing, and naturally it fell to my lot to take charge 
of and train the racing crew. We had plenty of splen- 
did men to choose from, and in a few months I had a 
crew that could pull six miles from start to finish 
without distress. I used to say that one could crack 
walnuts on any of them without marking his skin, 
and I really believe one could have done so. They 
were a fine, sandy lot of chaps, and were never beaten 
while we were on the station, though we challenged 
all the ships we met, and raced with all who dared to 
accept. 

Probably the most notable race we pulled was that 
in Hong-Kong on the French emperor's birthday. 
The French admiral was determined to take the cham- 
pionship away from us, and to do so had built a 
sixteen-oared mahogany barge, which was light and 
supposed to be very fast. The crew trained at night, 
so that it was impossible to get an idea of what they 
were like; but I succeeded at last, by watching them 
closely and surprising them in the darkness, in get- 
ting a line on them. I was convinced that we could 
beat them, and advised all our people to bet that 
way, which they did; and as the betting was at long 
odds on the French boat, many of us did not have to 
trouble the paymaster for months. As the day for 
the race approached, the flagships of the different na- 
tions — French, English, American, and Russian — were 
moored on the course, where all could have a good 
view of the race from start to finish. Six boats were 

141 



A Sailor's Log 

entered — two French, two English, and two Ameri- 
can — and the distance to be pulled was six miles, three 
miles away and a turn. I was lucky enough to draw 
the position next the starting boat, which insured my 
getting off promptly at the word. Next to me was the 
French barge, on which so much money had been bet. 
She certainly did look very lit and dangerous, but six 
miles is a long way, and I knew that I had wind and 
muscle in my boat. The day before the race every 
man in the Delaware drew all the money that was due 
him, and bet it, of course. Deck buckets of silver 
dollars were taken on board the French fiagship, sized 
up against theirs, and placed under guard. Everybody 
was betting, and all, except our crew, were backing 
the French boat to win. 

The first mile of the course was packed on either 
side with boats crowded with people and covered with 
flags, and must have presented a beautiful sight to 
those who had time to observe it. I was not able to 
see much of it. I was busy watching that red-coloured 
French barge, and occasionally glancing at the four- 
teen hard-set, anxious faces in my boat. At last we 
were on the line, oars pointed forward, feet firmly 
braced against the stretchers, mouths shut like steel 
traps, and every muscle and nerve tense almost to the 
point of breaking. " Are you ready? " and then 
*' Go! " came from the starter. With one beautiful 
flash of the oars we all caught the water together, and 
were off. I could feel my heart thump in my throat as 
I saw. with one eye. the light French-built boat shoot 
out half a length ahead of us, and with the other eye 
the fourteen faces all turned on mine. Three hard, 

142 





Midshipman and Captain. 



An American Victory 

quick strokes had set us going, and for a moment the 
red barge seemed to be tied to us, so even was our pace; 
then I could see my starboard bow-oar slowly, inch by 
inch, dip out ahead of her. About five hundred yards 
from the start was a bunch of American boats crowded 
with yelling lunatics, and as I approached them I spoke 
a word to the crew, signaled the stroke to rise to forty, 
and before the Frenchman knew what had happened 
to him he had our wash, and, barring accidents, the 
race was won. Then we settled down to our long, 
swinging thirty-two strokes, which were to last the 
rest of the distance. The French crew began yelling 
when we passed them, and I believe they kept it up 
to the finish. 

It struck me as about the worst use I had ever 
known a racing crew to put their lungs to, but it 
pleased me immensely to have them do it. At the 
turning buoy we were thirty seconds ahead, and 
on the pull in we gained one minute. Crossing the 
finish line, I tossed oars for a second as the gun 
flashed, and then pulled to the ship at the same racing 
speed. As I shot alongside, the tackles were hooked 
and the boat run up to the davits, crew and all. All 
hands tumbled out on deck, and when the French 
barge crossed the line our boat was quietly hanging 
at the davits, as if nothing had happened. It was only 
a boat race, it is true, but it was a grand one, and we 
won it. The boat from the Iroquois came in second, 
so we had all the honours as well as all the money. 

While we were anchored at Hong-Kong news 
came of the sinking of the Oneida, one of our squad- 
ron and the " chum " ship of the Delaware. She had 

143 



A Sailor's Log 

been run down by the English mail steamer Bombay 
in Yokohama Bay and all hands lost; at least so the 
story ran. Later and more reliable news was to the 
efTect that the ship and most of her officers and men 
were lost, but that about fifty of them had been saved. 
We were under way by daylight the following morn- 
ing, bound for the scene of the disaster. As we en- 
tered Yokohama Bay we stopped and lowered a boat, 
and I was sent to report what I could make out of the 
wreck. The main truck, the top of the main royal 
mast, was just awash, and as I held on to it and 
looked down into the clear water I could see the yards 
and the neatly furled sails, but nothing else. The ship 
was resting on the bottom on her keel, upright, the 
grave of nearly two hundred as brave hearts as ever 
sailed under the dear old flag. 

The court that followed showed clearly how the 
Bombay had carelessly cut the Oneida down and sunk 
her, and how her captain had done a thing most un- 
usual for men of his race — sailed away and left the 
victims of his carelessness to drown. But in drowning 
they reflected only credit on their country, for they 
stood at their quarters and went down like men, with- 
out a whimper. We buried some of the poor chaps, 
but most of them were never recovered. The Bom- 
bay was fortunately not in Yokohama when we ar- 
rived; if she had been there, it would have required 
hard work to control our officers and men and pre- 
vent sf)nie sort of a demonstration against her. The 
Oneida was homeward bound when she was sunk, and 
her loss cast a gloom over the entire squadron. 

My promotion to the grade of lieutenant com- 
144 



At Singapore 

mander came soon after we reached Hong-Kong, dur- 
ing the first year of the cruise. It was thought at first 
that I would be detached and ordered to some other 
vessel, but Admiral Rowan believed in keeping both 
officers and men in the ships in which they commis- 
sioned during the entire cruise when possible, and so 
I was not disturbed. Captain Ammen, who was re- 
spected and loved by all of us, was detached, and came 
home to be appointed chief of the Bureau of Naviga- 
tion, and Captain Earl English transferred to us from 
the command of the Iroquois. He was one of the 
ablest seamen in the navy, and a prime favourite with 
officers and men. His tastes were for out-of-door 
sports, and he and I spent many happy hours tramping 
over the rice fields of China and Japan in search of 
game. Our cruise, continued until the summer of 
1869, was nearly spent when we proceeded to Singa- 
pore, there to await the arrival of our relief, the steam 
frigate Colorado, Admiral John Rodgers. 



145 



CHAPTER XIII 

SOME ORIENTAL DIVERSIONS 

The life in Singapore at this time was simply ideal, 
and I enjoyed it to the full. The climate was hot, but 
not unbearable, not even hurtful to those who could 
and would take reasonable care of themselves. No 
work was done during the heat of the day. One lived 
his life at night, so to speak, when the cool sea breeze 
made existence very enjoyable. The temperature 
varied only a few degrees — about three — during the 
year, say from one hundred and seven to one hun- 
drefl and ten. So also at lo p. m. the temperature 
ran from eighty to eighty-five during the year. The 
mornings were fine for sleeping, and if one remained 
carefully in the shade until late in the afternoon, he 
could enjoy the evening and night. Our men were 
thoroughly well drilled, and the admiral therefore re- 
duced the exercises to the minimum. 

The Colorado was much delayed in her passage out, 
so that we remained at our anchorage four months be- 
fore she appeared. Everv dav had its pleasures for me, 
however. We were all invited to dine out every day, 
and sometimes had two or more invitations for the 
same day. Wc dined with all sorts of people, for every 
one was anxious to have us; native princes, foreign 

146 



The Land of Cobras 

ministers, military messes, and civilians all asked us, 
and we went to them all, first and last. The governor 
was most hospitable, and I enjoyed many pleasant 
evenings with his charming daughters. One of the 
military bands furnished music every afternoon in the 
public square, and here we all met for an hour for the 
latest gossip, after which we drank tea somewhere and 
then prepared for dinner, which was the feature of 
the day.' 

Five of us hired a bungalow on shore, and regu- 
larly set up our establishment, which was a very sim- 
ple one, but at the same time most comfortable and 
convenient. It was situated on the edge of the jungle 
near one of the best hotels, from which we obtained 
our meals. It was, of course, headquarters for all 
officers when on shore, particularly for those who had 
to remain ashore all night. We had only five beds, 
but they were very elastic, and could be made on 
occasion to hold a great many men. Cobras and taran- 
tulas were very common " varmints," and no one there- 
fore slept much on the floor or porches. Snake- 
charmers, jugglers, and fakirs generally abounded, and 
some of them could always be found near our bun- 
galow. 

One morning, as five of us sat taking our morn- 
ing fruit and coffee, the Chinese attendant broke 
into the room almost paralyzed with fear, screaming, 
"Cobra! cobra!" In a moment we had located a 
large, vicious-looking reptile in the back yard, and the 
happy thought came to some one to send for a snake- 
charmer and test his qualities on this specimen, which 
had evidently just crawled out of the jungle. In five 

147 



A Sailor's Log 

minutes, or possibly less, the charmer appeared, and 
proceeded to do the neatest trick I ever witnessed. 
He was a Mohammedan, about forty years of age, 
stripped to the waist, and carrying a sealskin bag with 
the fur on the inside, in which he had a large collec- 
tion of cobras and other snakes. He stood quietly 
watching the newcomer for a few moments, evidently 
sizing him up, and then, producing a small reed fife, 
began blowing it, making a sharp monotonous noise. 
At the same time an assistant some yards behind him 
beat slowly on a small tom-tom, or drum. The two 
advanced slowly to the middle of the small inclosure, 
and when fifteen or twenty feet from their quest seated 
themselves quietly on the ground and continued their 
music, or, more properly speaking, noise. The cobra 
in the meantime was much excited, and showed signs 
of fight. He rapidly coiled himself, raised a foot or 
two of his body vertically, spread his hood, and gen- 
erally looked very ugly. The monotonous noise of 
the performers continued, and the cobra shifted his 
position first to the side, and then directly toward the 
charmers, always watching them closely with his keen, 
scintillating eyes. After half an hour of this play he 
was almost between the feet of the Mohammedan, and 
as he raised himself and, spread his hood we all ex- 
pected to see him strike and end the performance; but 
instead, the man reached out his hand, slowly seized 
the cobra by the neck. and. rising with him, held him 
limp in the air for a moment, and then deposited him 
in the bag with his other snakes. The Chinaman had 
in the meantime bolted; nothing could induce him 
to stay longer in such a dangerous spot. The assistant 

148 



A Thrilling Experience 

took his departure, and the charmer, with his bag of 
snakes, stepped into our dining room for a parting 
drink. 

The unfortunate thought came to one of our 
men that it would be a good idea to get the Moham- 
medan drunk to see what he would do; so he pre- 
pared a dose for him that was very effective. He 
poured a good stiff drink of brandy into a beer glass, 
and then filled it with gin instead of water. The 
charmer took kindly to the drink, and in a short time 
rolled out of his chair on to the floor very drunk, and 
was soon fast asleep. The bag of snakes had not been 
thought of up to this time, but it also fell, and the 
inhabitants quickly spread over the floor. In the 
meantime five American officers took to the table, and 
drawing their feet up carefully, remained there until 
the snake-charmer slept off his dose. He snored 
quietly while the snakes crawled over and around him, 
but it was a long time before he finally came to him- 
self, secured his pets, and took them away. We did 
not repeat that experiment. 

I went one Sunday to breakfast with an English 
officer who was quartered some distance in the coun- 
try among the hills in a very neat one-story bungalow. 
I arrived early, found my bachelor friend in his bath, 
and, lighting a cheroot, sat waiting for him to show 
up. In a few moments I heard a sharp exclamation 
from him, and on turning my head saw him in his 
bath dress looking back into the bathroom, which he 
had just left. He had discovered a cobra, which had 
been under the tub while he was in it, and was now 
reared up and looking into the tub. It was enough 

149 



A Sailor's Log 

to give one the shivers to think what a close call he 
had had. My friend left me for a few moments, and 
then came back with a mongoose, or jungle cat, which 
is the deadly enemy of the cobra. The small cat when 
released seemed to be all tail, but he knew his business, 
and did it in a way to excite my unbounded admira- 
tion. The tight between the two was short, but very 
exciting. Several times it looked as if the cobra must 
win, but the cat managed, somehow, to avoid the 
lightning-like strokes, and finally fastened on the back 
of the snake's neck and killed it. I looked carefully 
under the table as I sat down to breakfast, to be sure 
that I should not have a cobra coiling himself in my 
lap before I had finished. The bite of this snake is 
so absolutely fatal that I never cared to take any 
chances with it. 

While we were cruising in the waters about Java 
and Singapore we saw hundreds of the salt-water snakes 
said to be so deadly. Sometimes the sea would be 
dotted with them, swimming with the head well out of 
water, and diving always on the approach of the ship. 
Many tales were told of the ravages of these pests, 
which climbed up the chains or into the ports of ves- 
sels at anchor and stung people to death. I noticed 
that all the fishermen about Singapore carried long, 
heavy knives, which they told me were used in killing 
the snakes as the fishing nets were hauled in. We 
never succeeded in catching one, though we saw thou- 
sands of them. 

Early in August, 1870, the admiral concluded that 
we had had enough of Singapore, so we said good- 
bye to all our friends who had entertained us so lav- 

150 



Racing the Colorado 

ishly, and sailed for Batavia in the island of Java, 
where we drank no end of gin, and behaved generally 
after the fashion of the Dutch. I don't think any of 
us enjoyed our stay very much, as we were expecting 
our rehef hourly, and took little interest in anything 
else. But the Colorado would not come, no matter 
how anxiously we looked for her; so the admiral, who 
was by this time tired of waiting, steamed over to the 
Straits Settlement in the Straits of Java, where we 
learned that she had passed in the day before bound 
for Singapore. Back we went as fast as steam and 
sails could carry us, and on our arrival found her there 
waiting for us. 

The transfer of commands began at once and was 
soon completed, but before we sailed we must have 
one more boat race. The Colorado had brought out 
a barge which was considered very fast, and our 
admiral naturally wanted to have the fastest boat on 
the station to defend the championship we had held 
so long. I pulled under the bows of the newcomer 
and challenged, which was accepted, and a race ar- 
ranged for the following day. Our racing crew had, 
of course, grown stale from the effects of climate and 
want of regular practice, but they were better than 
the Colorado's by long odds. As soon as I saw the 
boats in the water I felt a warning of the good lick- 
ing we got. They beat us twenty seconds in four miles 
after one of the hardest races I was ever in. The boat 
did it, for our men were in good shape at the finish, 
while the other crew was pulled to a standstill. The 
Daring — that was her name — became afterward the 
most celebrated man-of-war cutter that was ever in 
" 151 



A Sailor's Log 

the East. She beat everything she ever raced with, 
either under oars or sails; even the shell boats of the 
Shanghai Club could not hold her. When the race 
was over we pulled alongside the Colorado, and each 
man shouldered his oar with its silver bands on the 
blade, marched on board, and deposited it on the quar- 
ter-deck as a present to the newcomers. I had our 
beautiful black gamecock under my arm as a present 
to the admiral; it was the first time he had ever been 
in a race without crowing at the finish. Admiral 
Rodgers ordered a decanter of wine, which was placed 
on the capstan on the quarter-deck, and my crew 
drank success to the Daring. The racing days of the 
I^claware's boat were over, but we felt sure she had 
a worthy successor. 

On August 22, 1870, we broke out our homeward- 
bound pennant, which was longer than the ship, catted 
our anchor with three cheers, and stood out of the 
harbour. Our China cruise was over, and none of us 
regretted either that we had had it or that it was 
behind us. 

Our run across the Indian Ocean was truly a grand 
one. We held the trades fresh all the way to Cape 
Town, where we arrived and anchored without more 
serious mishap than the loss of a few light sails. After 
resting a week we again got under way and ran down 
to St. Helena, and all hands had a chance to see that 
celebrated and beautiful island. I paid a visit to 
Longwood and saw the various Napoleon relics, which 
a major of the French army took great pains to ex- 
plain to me, not forgetting any of the incidents which 
reflected discredit on the emperor's English guardians. 

152 



Return to New York 

Before we left, the mail steamer came in, and the major, 
taking one glance at the papers, burst into tears. Se- 
dan had been added to the long list of French defeats. 
I could not help thinking as I walked back to my boat 
how fortunate it was for Germany that the real Na- 
poleon was dead. 

After leaving St. Helena we reached New York in 
forty-seven days, certainly a fine run for a ship drag- 
ging a four-bladed screw. As we entered the Nar- 
rows the Guerriere was made out inside the Hook, 
bound for Brazil. She saluted us with seventeen guns, 
which was the first intimation we had that Admiral 
Rowan had been made vice-admiral. Our ofBcers and 
crew were wild with delight, and cheered until the 
admiral showed himself on deck. It was a splendid 
reward for his magnificent conduct during the civil 
war, and made solely on his merits. At the time it 
was done he was at sea, out of reach of anything 
like political influence, and not even where he could 
be communicated with. Once in our history, any- 
how, the man who deserved it was made vice-ad- 
miral. 

We anchored of¥ the Battery for a few days, and 
then went to the navy yard, where we got rid of our 
trash — stripped the ship, put her out of commission, 
and paid off the crew. My dog " Jowler " was miss- 
ing soon after the men left, and I never saw him 
again. Many months afterward I received a note from 
one of the racing crew begging me to forgive him for 
stealing my dog, and asking me if I ever came to 
Brooklyn to come and see him at a certain saloon 
which he mentioned. He said he loved the dog so 

153 



A Sailor's Log 

that he simply had to have him; that he knew I would 
not sell him, so he had to steal him. 

I was granted a short leave after this cruise, and 
before it was up was ordered to duty in the Ordnance 
Department of the Washington Navy Yard, where I 
had interesting work during the winter. Admiral 
Goldsborough. an ofificcr of the old school, was in 
command of the yard, which insured a lively time for 
all hands; and Commander F. AI. Ramsay, the in- 
spector of ordnance, was not noted for allowing those 
under his command to neglect their work or spend 
many idle moments. 

It was in the course of this winter that I became 
engaged to Miss Charlotte Taylor, of Washington, 
daughter of Mr. Franck Taylor, and sister of my class- 
mate, Harry C. Taylor, now one of the most distin- 
guished ofTficers of our navy. 



154 



CHAPTER XIV 

A NEW VIEW OF ANNAPOLIS 

In July of the following year I was married, and 
after spending the summer at the North, was assigned 
to duty at that Mecca of young married people, the 
Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Things had 
changed wonderfully since my school days, and during 
my first year there I found that I had to study nearly 
all night in order to instruct the midshipmen during 
the day. I say " instruct " the midshipmen, but there 
really was very little instruction given them. It re- 
quired all my time to hear them tell me what they 
knew or did not know. The system was afterward 
changed to a much better one, under which really 
valuable instruction was given. During the second 
year of my detail I had more leisure, and a fine setter 
dog and a catboat helped me to bear the most unde- 
sirable duty I have ever had in the navy. Wild ducks 
and quail were to be had, and I thoroughly enjoyed 
getting them, and did get a good many first and last. 
I bred and trained my own dogs, and in this training 
at least I was successful. 

It was during this year that the first coloured cadet 
was appointed to the Naval Academy. He came upon 
us suddenly, and before we knew it he had passed his 

155 



A Sailor's Log 

examination and appeared in uniform, with a coloured 
girl as his companion. The place was in an uproar at 
once, and the excitement among all classes was in- 
tense. As I walked along the row of ol^cers' quarters, 
all the coloured servants were at the front gates dis- 
cussing the news. When I reached my own quarters 
my dining-room boy, a small, copi)e r-colourecL _iuTp, 
with his eyes sticking out of his head, said to me, " My 
Lord, J\Ir. Evans, a nigger done enter the Naval Acad- 
emy! " That was what we were all feeling, though we 
expressed ourselves somewhat differently. 

The first consideration was, of course, to see that 
no bodily harm came to the lad, who had not been 
wisely advised, and did not behave himself in a way 
to induce respect from those around him. Our sec- 
ond thought was for the reputation of the naval 
school, that nothing unworthy its grand record should 
take place. The great danger was from the system 
of hazing, which had grown to very deplorable pro- 
portions, and which we w^ere bending our energies to 
destroy. In our efforts to protect the coloured boy 
we ran into the error of favouring him too much, and 
he soon came to give himself undue importance. He 
fancied that he was an issue which the authorities of 
the school dared not meet — which, though a natural 
mistake to make, was a fatal one for him in the end. 
After being dismissed several times by court-martial, 
and each time restored by the Secretary of the Navy, 
%vho could not bring himself to believe that politics 
had nothing to do with the sentence of the court — 
how should he, poor man? — the boy was really un- 
bearable. 

156 



Coloured Cadets 

In the same class was a youngster from New 
York city, a bootblack by profession, who had been ap- 
pointed to the academy by Mr. S. S. Cox, who repre- 
sented a district in Congress. Some of us thought 
that politics might have had something to do with 
this appointment. At any rate, the two lads, the col- 
oured representative of the great State of South Caro- 
lina and the bootblack from the great city of New 
York, were appointed to room together, with the re- 
sult that each succeeded in having the other dismissed 
in a few months. I well remember one night when I 
was on duty as officer in charge of cadet quarters, that 
the coloured cadet was reported as missing. It was 
in the middle of a cold, raw night, and after a long, 
careful search no sign could be found of him. I was 
about to report the matter to the commandant of 
cadets, when I heard a curious barking among some 
tall trees in the grounds, as if a dog were tied up. On 
investigation, I found the missing cadet in the top 
of a tree, very scantily clad, and barking with all his 
might because some senior classmen had told him to 
do it. It was the only time I ever knew him to be 
really hazed, and it was impossible to punish the guil- 
ty ones, because the boy himself refused to assist in 
any way in bringing them to punishment. 

We all breathed easier when the two of them, black 
and bootblack, departed for their homes. The ques- 
tion of colour was one we were not prepared to tackle, 
and I don't see that we are any better prepared for it 
to-day than we were in 1872. The antagonism of the 
two races seems greater now than it was then. 



157 



CHAPTER XV 

ON BOARD THE SHENANDOAH 

Two years at Annapolis was all I could bear, and 
I looked about me for a ship and sea service. The 
sloop of war Shenandoah, of the Mediterranean fleet, 
was short a navigator, and the Department was good 
enough to order me to her in that capacity. I packed 
up my guns, gave away my dogs, sold my catboat, and 
with my wife and young daughter sailed on the Cu- 
narder Parthia, Captain Watson. I reported for duty 
at Gibraltar early in August. 

The Shenandoah was a sloop of war built during 
the civil war. She carried a good battery, could steam 
about six knots an hour, and roll forty degrees each 
way twenty times a minute and keep it up for hours 
at a time. When I joined her she was commanded by 
Captain Clarke H. Wells, and my old classmate Mc- 
Gregor was executive officer. My duties as navigator 
were light, and the prospects of a pleasant cruise very 
promising. 

The ship was somewhat notorious for the part 
she had played in the revolution then being fought 
out in Spain. She was at anchor in Cadiz, when one 
of the captured Spanish ironclads came in and an- 
chored. The rebellious crew had murdered all the 

158 



English Hospitality 

officers, and with the red flag flying, and a new crew 
of soldiers on board, entered the harbour and threat- 
ened all sorts of things under penalty of bombard- 
ment. A council of foreign officers was called on 
board the English flagship, and it was unanimously 
decided to ask the American captain to blow her up 
if she should attempt to carry out her threats. Cap- 
tain Wells accepted this task promptly, as he had him- 
self decided to do it before the council was called. He 
got his ship under way, and, anchoring close to the 
ironclad, informed her commanding officer that as he 
flew no recognised flag he would not permit him either 
to get under way or bombard as he had threatened, 
and if he attempted to do so he would blow him out 
of the water. Wells then opened communication with 
our minister in Madrid, and actually held the ship 
under his guns until she was turned back to the Span- 
ish navy. 

I found a large English garrison at Gibraltar, and 
a most hospitable lot they were. Their mess dinners 
were very enjoyable affairs, and they seemed more 
than anxious always to have our officers as their 
guests. I attended one soon after I arrived which 
lasted all night. I reached my ship at 4.20 in the 
morning. The dinner was given by the officers of 
the Thirty-first Regiment, whose mess outfit and plate 
were as fine as any I had up to that time seen. The 
quarters were comfortable and handsomely furnished, 
and the service fully up to the standard of the English 
army. The officers were a well-educated and cultured 
lot of hard-drinking chaps, who seemed ready for any 
sort of a job that might turn up. They owned a fine 

159 



A Sailor's Log 

pack of lioiinds, and rode after them several days each 
week over the rough country beyond the neutral zone. 
I was cordially invited to join them, but, not wishing 
to come to my end in that way, excused myself on 
the ground that I had neither red coat nor spurs. 

Toward the end of August the Wachusetts arrived, 
with directions for Captain Wells to run up to Car- 
tagena to see what was going on, which we did, 
stopping at various ports on the way. At Cartagena 
we found quite a large tieet assembled. The Spanish 
rebels, who held the place and all the heavy works sur- 
rounding it, had seized two steamers, merchant ves- 
sels, for some imaginary offence, and declared their in- 
tention of confiscating them. Admiral Yelverton, of 
the English navy, commanding the Mediterranean 
fleet, had notified them that on a certain day he meant 
to take the two steamers to sea and deliver them 
to their rightful owners, and that they must not be 
moved in the meantime. In reply, the Spaniards said 
that if Admiral Yelverton attempted any such move, 
they would engage him with their forts and ironclad 
fleet. We were lying in Escombrera Bay, where we 
could see every move on either side. The forts frowned 
down on us from a great height, and as the Spaniards 
shifted gun after gun to bear on the English fleet, and 
their ironclads prepared for action, it looked as if we 
might see some exciting work before the episode was 
closed. The shores near us were 1:)leak and forbid- 
ding in the extreme, not a sign of vegetation any- 
where. The only buildings in sight were a few silver- 
smelting works. 

Monday forenoon we tripped our anchor and stood 
i6o 



English Sea Power 

down toward the entrance of the harbour, so that we 
might be in better position to witness the fight, which 
many expected to see. I was not one of them. I 
knew what the EngHsh would do, and I beheved the 
Spaniards would back down when the time came for 
action. The EngHsh fleet was cleared for action and, 
as we steamed past them, looked very grim and busi- 
nesslike. Promptly at noon, the hour set by the ad- 
miral for the movement, the fleet got under way, the 
ironclad division formed around the two merchant 
steamers, their anchors were broken out, and they 
steamed away to sea with the English flag flying on 
each of them. As they were escorted out by the iron- 
clads, and gained some distance from the port, a divi- 
sion of English gunboats stood slowly in toward the 
forts, turned deliberately, and steamed away after 
the fast-disappearing admiral. The Spaniards stood 
by their loaded guns. The huge ironclads sizzled with 
steam and smoked viciously from their stacks, but 
not a shot was fired. Admiral Yelverton had done 
his work beautifully. 

The Spaniards were wise enough to see that it was 
not well to monkey with such a buzz saw as the sea 
power of England. This action of the admiral was 
much questioned at the time, but was finally approved 
by his Government, which gave it the stamp of right. 
He claimed, and the Spanish rebels admitted, that the 
two vessels, seized from loyal Spanish subjects, were 
to be fitted out as privateers to prey on Spanish com- 
merce. He further claimed, which was a fact beyond 
question, that they were to sail under a flag not recog- 
nised by any nation, hence they would be pirates, and 

i6i 



A Sailor's Log 

for this reason he seized tlicm. There seems to have 
been good ground for his action. 

From Cartagena we cruised along the Spanish 
coast as far as Barcelona, where we found the flagship 
Wabash, flying the flag of Admiral Case, commanding 
the squadron. Personally we were glad to see the dear 
old gentleman, but oflicially we would rather he had 
been somewhere else. Whenever a number of ships 
get together there is always a lot of work to be done 
by surveys, and the navigators seem to be traditionally 
the men to do it. We surveyed old stoves, carpets, 
curtains, pans and pots, until 1 felt myself quite com- 
petent to run a shop in Chatham Street. As soon as 
we arrived we received notice that the admiral would 
inspect us in a few days, and that meant incessant 
work until the inspection was completed. We had in 
our crew representatives of all the nations of Europe, 
and some from Asia. It was difficult to make one's 
self understood without the use of at least two or 
three languages. This was caused by keeping the ship 
on the station long after the time of enlistment of her 
proper crew had expired, and was a most unhappy 
condition. We were moored in Barcelona Harbour 
between two ironclads, English on one side of us and 
Austrian on the other, and we could see that our extra 
work was interesting them. They watched us all the 
time, and were evidently very curious to see what the 
Yankes were up to. 

Admiral Case was a great believer in torpedoes. 
and decided that we should fire one on our inspec- 
tion. The spar torpedo — " a bag of powder on the 
end of a pole " — was the kind of infernal machine 

162 



Old-fashioned Torpedoes 

then in favour; but so far none had been exploded 
in the Mediterranean, and we were to have the dis- 
tinction of being the first to do it. We had no tor- 
pedoes to work with — only an old-fashioned firing 
machine and a small quantity of insulated wire; the 
rest I had to make as best I might. After messing 
myself up with pitch and soluble rubber for three days, 
I reported that my torpedo was ready, and the inspec- 
tion began. Our work was fairly well done, consider- 
ing the crew we had, but our condition in the mind 
of the admiral and his official report depended largely 
on the success of the torpedo. At the proper moment 
I received the order, ''Fire the starboard torpedo!" 
as if we had a dozen on tap. This was to impress the 
foreigners, who were watching us intently. Admiral 
Case had a fine sense of humour. 

My pitched-over water-breaker, containing one 
hundred pounds of old black powder, was launched on 
the end of a long spar and sunk to a depth of about 
ten feet. Then I touched the firing key, and there was 
a real commotion for all hands. The explosion which 
followed instantly shook the ship — in fact, all the 
ships in the harbour — quite thoroughly, threw a fine 
column of water two hundred feet in the air, and cov- 
ered the decks of the Austrian, who was to leeward 
of us, with very filthy mud blown up from the bottom. 
The admiral considered it all very successful, compli- 
mented me on my work, and ordered that each ship of 
the squadron should prepare and fire one torpedo each 
month. It is hard to believe, in these days of perfect- 
running Whiteheads and Howells, that I am relating 
what actually occurred on a United States vessel in 

163 



A Sailor's Log 

1873. Other nations were no better off than we, if 
as well. 

Before leaving Barcelona I determined to witness 
some of the shows which amused the people, and as 
Sunday was the great day for that sort of thing, se- 
lected it for my outing. I hope I may never spend 
another such Sunday. First I visited a combination 
tight — chickens lirst, then " bull baiting," and finally 
a dog fight, each more brutal than the other. The 
bull baiting consisted in tying a bull to a post in the 
centre of an inclosure by means of a ring fastened 
through his nose, and then turning loose on him a 
number of savage bulldogs. The poor beast was un- 
able to defend himself, and soon succumbed to his tor- 
mentors. A lean-looking old donkey was then intro- 
duced, and the dogs let loose on him. He evidently 
had more sense than the bull, for he succeeded in 
killing one dog with his teeth and two with his heels 
before they finally pulled him down. I regretted very 
much that it was not men instead of dogs he had de- 
molished. Then came the dog fight, which was a very 
noisy affair, not on account of the dogs that were 
fighting, but by reason of the curs surrounding the 
pit. Almost every cur had a smaller cur under his arm 
— smaller, of course, and much less brutal and savage 
than his master. I fittingly wound up the day by visit- 
ing a large gambling hell, where I lost a few pesetas, 
and was chased out on the roof by a gang of thugs, 
who seemed anxious to put a knife or two in me. 
When I reached the ship I felt that T had learned 
something of Spanish customs, and was imj^ressed with 
the necessity of a bath, both moral and physical. 

164 



Hunting in Morocco 

From Barcelona we hurried down to Alicante to 
see the bombardment of that place by the rebel ships. 
We were so slow, however, that we arrived the day 
after the fight. There were no forts to be seen when 
at daylight the bombardment began; but the people 
on shore had mounted some heavy guns in a masked 
battery and served them so well that the fieet was 
driven off before sundown, with quite a list of killed 
and wounded. The town suffered somewhat, but no 
lives were lost. The bombardment was caused by the 
refusal of the authorities to pay the large sum of 
money demanded of them by the rebel government. 

Upon our arrival at Tangiers, Morocco, the Ameri- 
can consul, Colonel Mathews, arranged a hunting 
party for Captain Wells, and I was fortunate enough 
to be asked to join it. A tribe of Moors furnished 
the attendants, three camels carried our tents and mess 
outfit, and we, four of us, followed on horseback. The 
attendants, cooks, hunters, etc., numbered about fifty. 
When we had gone some seventy-five miles into the 
country we struck the hunting ground and the fun 
began. I had determined to shoot from my horse, as 
the cover was very thick and the weather hot enough 
to make the work of getting through it hard for 
a lame man. Colonel Mathews assured me that the 
horse, a thoroughbred Arabian, would probably break 
my neck if I fired from his back, but I had my own 
views about that. As we were leaving our camp in 
the morning for our first day's shoot, two partridges 
got up under my horse's nose and I downed them 
both, but a second later found myself sitting on the 
ground. When I fired I took the precaution to throw 

165 



A Sailor's Log 

both my feet out of tlie stirrups. The horse squatted 
down aiul jumped from under me as if he had been 
greased, and then ran away. He was fmally caught, 
and, after half an hour's training, stood fire hke a 
veteran. I shot from his back every day while we 
were out. and I am sure he learned to enjoy it. I 
certainly did. We were shooting the African red- 
legged partridge, and they were in great numbers. 
The Moors were spread out like a picket line, with the 
gunners stationed along at regular intervals. As the 
line advanced, the flight of birds was almost constant 
and the banging of the guns incessant, the Moors act- 
ing as beaters and retrievers. 

Each morning the camp was sent ahead to a spot 
selected by the colonel, and when we arrived, gen- 
erally early in the afternoon, we found everything 
ship-shape and our lunch ready. Our trip was made 
during the Ramadan, or lenten season, and the Moors 
neither ate nor drank from sunrise to sunset, but dur- 
ing the night they made merry. Not so with us, how- 
ever; we ate, drank, and made merry during the day, 
and slept during the night when the fleas would allow 
us to. These little pests were in the sand, and in such 
numbers and so active that we all bore the marks of 
them for weeks afterward. Colonel Mathews was a 
real cordon hlcii, and the stews he made out of English 
hare, of which we killed a number, and mutton, were 
beyond criticism. We w^ere all sorry when our week 
was up and we had to return to work. 

1 he news of the seizure of the Virginius came about 
this time, and we received hurry orders to proceed to 
Nice, our storehouse and headquarters. We were off 

1 66 



A Heavy Storm 

at once and had a fine run until we passed Port 
Mahon, when a long swell from the Gulf of Lyons 
and a rapidly falling barometer indicated trouble 
ahead. The captain had his family on board, and one 
of his daughters was to be married to an officer on our 
arrival at Nice; and as we would probably be hurried 
away as soon as we could take in stores, without much 
consideration for the young couple, it was desirable 
that we should make as much speed as possible. The 
storm warnings were not heeded, and at sundown we 
were on our course under all sails and steam. Half an 
hour afterward I was called on deck to shorten sail, 
but before I could do anything half the canvas was 
blown away. We finally got her under storm sails, but 
she rolled until the side seams were so opened that the 
water squirted into the officers' bunks in the ward- 
room. I was on deck, in my double capacity of execu- 
tive officer and navigator, during the entire night, 
and I have rarely seen a worse one. The wind blew 
with hurricane force, and our crew of " dagos " and 
" rock scorpions " were of little use. Many of the 
officers had to go aloft to help furl the few sails we 
had managed to save, most of which afterward blew 
out of the furling lines and were lost. Our engines 
were of little use in the heavy sea, barely giving us 
steerage way, and as a whole the prospect was not 
pleasing. During the mid watch, about half past one, 
I was thrown on deck by the heavy lurching of the 
ship, and had the skin taken off my left knee in a spot 
just the size of the knee cap. When I had a chance 
the doctor took a look at it in the wardroom, and 
before I knew what he was about he clapped a large 

12 167 



A Sailor's Log 

piece of thick adhesive plaster, which he had melted 
over a candle, on the raw llesh. It fairly fried me, and 
caused me intense pain for several days, as well as the 
use of very strong language. 

At daylight the gale blew out, and the ship was 
really a picture to see. Bits of canvas remained on 
the yards where the sails had been, and other bits had 
whipped themselves about the rigging, and all were 
frayed out, until the Shenandoah looked as if she had 
been picking cotton. We arrived at Nice, however, 
after a time, the parson tied the knot for the captain's 
daughter, amid most beautiful surroundings and dis- 
tinguished people, and in a few days we reported ready 
for sea again. War rumours were in the air, and when 
we said good-bye to our families none of us could even 
guess when we might see them again. It was a sad 
time for us all, but the women were so plucky and 
behaved so well that we were cheered by their example. 
No weeping and wailing for them — only pale faces and 
set teeth to show what they were suffering. How 
proud we were of our American wives! 

The admiral sent us to sea as fast as we were 
coaled and ready to rendezvous at Gibraltar, where we 
arrived in five days, which was an excellent run for 
us. The weather tried to make up to us for its 
hard treatment a few days before, and the wind 
blew steadily in our favour all the way. Before 
leaving Nice our cabin party was increased by the ar- 
rival on board of the paymaster's wife, who came to 
look after her sick husband. I shall have more to say 
about him later on. When we reached Gibraltar war 
with Spain seemed probable, and orders were received 

l68 



Navigator and Milkman 

to proceed immediately to Key West. These were 
somewhat accentuated when the admiral wired to 
know if there were any further orders, by the answer 
from the Department at Washington: " Obey your 
orders at once! " After this the ships got to sea rather 
promptly, we being the last to start. We ran down to 
Madeira, where we remained a week, and then headed 
for St. Thomas, in the West Indies. 

The paymaster was very ill at this time and grow- 
ing worse. Many of us, who knew him well, thought 
the best thing he could do would be to die — the best 
for all hands, particularly the wife. The captain, at the 
instigation of the doctor, purchased a goat, in order 
that the patient might have the advantage of fresh 
milk on the passage over. We left Madeira early in 
the morning, and at eleven o'clock that night the 
orderly turned me out, saying the captain wanted 
to see me on deck. I was at a loss to know what he 
could possibly want with me at that hour, but, sup- 
posing it to be something of importance, hurried into 
my clothes and reported to him on the quarter-deck, 
when the following conversation took place: " Evans, 
you know the paymaster is very ill, and may die? " 
" Yes, sir; I hope he will." " Well, he surely will 
unless he can have some goat's milk. I have sent for 
you to ask if you won't milk the goat for us. I know 
you can do it. So far we have not succeeded in get- 
ting a drop of milk from the beast, though she seems 
to have plenty." To this proposition I was naturally 
disposed to make a sharp reply, but, having a great re- 
gard for the captain, I only said, " I was not aware, sir, 
that it was any part of the navigator's duty to milk 

169 



A Sailor's Log 

a goat." "Of course not, Evans, of course not; I 
ask you to do it as a matter of humanity, and to 
oblige me." 

That, of course, settled the question, and down 
1 went to tackle Mrs. Goat. 1 found her in a very 
excited state of mind apparently, having butted out 
the captain's steward and a marine orderly who had 
attempted to relieve her of her milk. One of them 
had tried to hold her while the other went for the 
milk. I remembered how the darkies in my young 
days had treated a cow under the same conditions, and 
procuring some warm water and exercising a little 
patience in the premises, soon relieved her of the milk, 
which was evidently giving her pain. This I sent to the 
cabin, and went back to my sleep. At breakfast in the 
morning the whole mess knew what had taken place, 
and I was, of course, the subject of no end of chafT. 

In the afternoon I was again sent for and re- 
quested to milk the goat. I declared I would "be 
jiggered " if I would; but the captain again persuaded 
me to do it. This time I found the goat standing 
on her hind legs, snorting at the steward, who was 
being unmercifully jeered at by the crew because he 
failed in all his attempt to produce milk. It now 
looked as if I would have to go on milking the blessed 
goat all the way to St. Thomas. However, I found 
a young marine who seemed willing to assume my 
duties, if the goat would let him. and I succeeded 
finally in teaching him the trick of milking her suc- 
cessfully. This was my first and only experience with 
goats. The paymaster lived to reach the United 
States, where he died a few months later. 

170 



An Inefficient Fleet 

On arriving at St. Thomas, we learned that the 
Virginius trouble was in a fair way of being settled 
without war. We were, however, to hurry on to Key 
West, where we had a large fleet assembled ready to 
fight in case diplomacy failed. The Ticonderoga was 
in port, just arrived from Brazil, and as soon as coaled 
we sailed in company and made a good run to the 
coast of Florida. The force assembled at Key West 
was the best, and indeed about all, we had. We had 
no stores or storehouses to speak of at this so-called 
base of supplies, and if it had not been so serious it 
would have been laughable to see our condition. We 
remained there several weeks, making faces at the 
Spaniards ninety miles away at Havana, while two 
modern vessels of war would have done us up in thirty 
minutes. As there was to be no war, the authorities 
in Washington allowed the foreign attaches to come 
and inspect us, and report our warlike condition to 
their different Governments. We were dreadfully mor- 
tified over it all, but we were not to blame; we did 
the best we could with what Congress gave us. 

We had several weeks of fleet manoeuvres, which 
were excellent both for officers and men, and then, as a 
grand wind up, a landing drill, which for some reason 
has become the favourite in our service over all legiti- 
mate work. On this occasion we landed about three 
thousand men, and, after spending an afternoon in a tem- 
perature running as high as 130° in the sun, returned 
to our ships and nursed our blisters for days afterward. 
I had command of the artillery, eighteen guns, which 
we hauled about seven or eight miles in the hot sun 
and through cactus so thick in some places that we 

171 



A Sailor's Log 

had to blow it away with the guns in order to get 
tlicm through. I found one of the men, an old quar- 
termaster, with his shoes hanging around his neck. 
He said he wasn't going to ruin his shoes by wearing 
them over that cactus. Finally, we Hanked the posi- 
tion of the imaginary enemy, and, with the expendi- 
ture of much old, condemned powder, carried it with 
a rush. Then we had a brigade dress parade, which 
would have impressed the Spanish regulars if they had 
seen it. This done, we went on board our ships, and 
the doctors pulled the cactus thorns out of us. 

The time spent on this drill and the money it cost 
were not entirely wasted. We learned many things 
besides how to live on turtle steaks. We of the navy 
knew long before this that our so-called naval force 
was a sham, and that the country was absolutely with- 
out sea power; but if there were any doubters among 
us they were convinced. The country at large learned 
something that shocked the people, and they began to 
take more interest in our floating defences. We tried 
all the kinds of torpedoes then known to us, and de- 
cided that they were good only for newspaper stories, 
or to scare timid people with. The much-talked-of 
Harvey towing-torpedo was towed about for days in 
an effort to make it strike a ship, but it would not 
do it. Once it did seem to wake uj). and jumped over 
an innocent tugboat, fortunately without killing any 
one. Then we ran at a large raft, made of many hun- 
dreds of oil barrels securely lashed together, and ex- 
ploded spar torpedoes under it, producing very beau- 
tiful fountains, and knocking the barrels about con- 
siderably. This was generally done at very low speed, 

172 



Gun and Torpedo Practice 

because most of us could not steam over seven knots; 
some ships undertook the exercise at speeds as high 
as ten knots, but they always carried away something 
when the spar was lowered into the water, and before 
they reached the target the torpedo had swung along- 
side, where it could not be exploded without disastrous 
result. Our gun practice was good, and it was found 
that the ofificers could handle their ships in a seaman- 
like way; but the general conclusion was that torpe- 
does in their then state of development were a very 
much overrated weapon. Of course, there were en- 
thusiasts who still believed in them. You can find 
those who believe that '* the earth stands still and the 
sun do move! " 



173 



CHAPTER XVI 

A CRUISE TO AFRICA 

War with Spain being once more postponed, or- 
ders were issued for the fleet to disband, and for the 
various vessels to proceed to their new stations. The 
Shenandoah was ordered North to go out of commis- 
sion for repairs, but as my sea service in her had been 
very short, I was transferred to the Congress as execu- 
tive officer. I was considered very young for the job, 
but I was not responsible either for my age or my 
orders, and neither gave me any concern. W. T. 
Sampson, who afterward rendered the country such 
conspicuous service in the war with Spain, had been 
her executive, and in relieving him I, of course, found 
a well-organized ship. She had a new crew, composed 
of merchant sailors principally, who had enlisted at 
Southern ports for the threatened Cuban war, and they 
were about as tough a lot of Christians as I ever ran 
up against; but time and discipline did wonders for 
them. I was again very fortunate in my captain, as 
my (j1(1 Delaware captain. Earl English, was ordered 
to command us. I reported on board early in April, 
and a few days later Captain English came with orders 
to hurry things up as much as possible and get ofT to 
the Mediterranean without delay. W'c did not allow 

174 



Madeira and Santa Cruz 

any barnacles to grow on us after this, for we knew 
how many ships would be pleased to take our place. 
A week, or ten days was all we required, after the order 
came, to report ready, and immediately afterward we 
went to sea. 

Our run to Madeira was made in good time, con- 
sidering the fact that we did it all under sail. I asked 
the captain to allow me to drill the men an hour or 
so each day with sails and spars, as I considered 
that the best and quickest way to get them in shape. 
He was good enough to approve the plan I had 
suggested, and every afternoon we worked ship for 
an hour, furling and shifting sails, sending up and 
down yards, and doing the many small things which, 
if persevered in, tend to make a seaman. Both officers 
and men thoroughly enjoyed the work, and the im- 
provement in them was most marked. Upon our ar- 
rival at Madeira we received orders to proceed to the 
coast of Africa, where some of the natives near Mon- 
rovia had threatened to barbecue our wards, the col- 
oured American colonists. As soon as necessary re- 
pairs could be made we left Madeira for the south. 

We found the trades good and strong, and running 
ol¥ before them under all sail was the finest going to 
sea one could have. We enjoyed the perfect semi- 
tropical weather to the full, and arrived at Santa Cruz 
May 13, 1874. The historical old town was well worth 
a visit, and we all regretted that the service on which 
we were bound allowed us to remain only three days, 
during which time we refilled our coal bunkers and 
made such excursions on shore as were possible. I 
organized a party of eleven to visit the village of 

175 



A Sailor's Log 

Orotava, which is situated in a valley at the foot of 
Mount Teneriffe, celebrated as one of the most beauti- 
ful peaks in the world. The question of how to get 
there was solved when I had succeeded in chartering 
three shabby old hacks and six so-called horses to pull 
them. We were soon started, and, working labori- 
ously up the steady mountain grade, arrived after a 
while at an elevation of three thousand feet, where we 
met the rain in tropical torrents. A convenient hole 
in the roof of my hack let the water through, and I 
soon had a small river running down my back and into 
my shoes, which detracted from the pleasure of the 
trip, but did not destroy it. The rain soon ceased, 
and there below us lay the city and the harbour com- 
pletely inclosed in a perfect rainbow, which touched 
the water north and south. It was the most beautiful 
picture I have ever seen, painted by the Master Hand 
that makes no mistakes. 

At the little village of Laguna we halted, wet and 
tired, to get what lunch we could from the scowling 
gang of Spaniards who surrounded us. The Virginius 
affair had not made us popular with these cutthroats. 
The tavern in which we found ourselves was foully 
dirty, and the food was in keeping; but we managed 
to make some sort of a meal on salad and eggs, washed 
down with very warm Bass ale. After leaving this vil- 
lage wc found ourselves on a road winding around the 
side of the mountain, with the sea nearly four thousand 
feet below us. The scene was wild and beautiful as the 
sun broke through the clouds which enveloped us. 
Nature did all she could to make the panorama perfect, 
but the shadow of Spain was over everything. 

176 



Visit to Orotava 

Darkness came as we turned into the valley and 
began the sharp descent to the village, and we saw noth- 
ing more until we arrived at the one miserable hotel 
Orotava at that time contained. After much wrangling 
and the use of many bad words we succeeded in getting 
enough cot beds for the party, but it was hours before 
we were served with dinner, and a very poor one it was 
when it finally came. When we retired for the night I 
discovered that one of the sheets for my bed was the 
tablecloth ofif which I had dined! This, however, was 
soon forgotten under the attack of the fleas, which 
literally swarmed everywhere, and sleep was out of the 
question. I thought I had seen fleas in Morocco and in 
Japan, but I was mistaken — it was left for Orotava 
to show me the real thing. We gave up the beds as 
a bad job, and wandered about until daylight, when 
we ascended to the roof of the hotel to watch the sun 
rise and catch the shadows on the beautiful Peak of 
Tenerifit'e. It was a clear morning, fortunately, and 
as the sun rose we were well repaid for all the incon- 
venience we had suffered. 

After breakfast we strolled for two hours about the 
village, admiring the splendid flowers, which in their 
perfection and abundance reminded me of those about 
Montevideo. The roses were the finest I had ever seen, 
and I can recall after all these years the appearance of a 
stone wall which had a cloth of gold climbing over it 
bearing more than five hundred splendid flowers. After 
a look at the great dragon tree, which had fallen two 
years before, having stood the storms of many hundreds 
if not thousands of years, we started on our return trip. 
At a point in the road where the view was the most per- 

177 



A Sailor's Log 

feet \vc lialted and looked back over the beautiful val- 
ley. It was at this spot that Humboldt was said to 
have dropped on his knees and exclaimed, " I have 
found the Garden of Eden!" The view, though very 
beautiful, had changed much since his time. Then the 
entire country was one vast vineyard — grapevines 
everywhere; but now only cactus plants could be seen, 
and they certainly could not be called beautiful. The 
people had found that cochineal paid better than wine, 
and did not require anything like so much labour, so 
they planted cactus and collected and roasted the small 
red insects. At the time of my visit aniline dyes had 
entirely superseded cochineal for colouring purposes, 
and the cactus plants had consequently been left with- 
out care to grow as they pleased. 

Our run down to Porto Grande was as pleasant 
as any I ever made, the weather being perfect. Our 
drills were kept up constantly, and the men showed 
the good stuff that was in them. The captain was, 
unfortunately, very sick all the way, and my work in 
consequence much harder. There were executives in 
the service at that day, and I suppose they are not 
all dead yet, who wanted to be captain as well as 
executive. I was not one of them. I always wished 
the captain to back nic up in what I did as executive, 
and I always did what I could to make his position 
strong and stiff, for I sometimes required a pretty stifT 
hand to back up some of the things I had to do to 
make the ship what I knew she ought to be. " To 
have the captain under your thumb " was one of the 
fool notions that never entered my head. 

Porto Grande was the headquarters of our African 
178 



A Desecrated Cemetery 

squadron, when we had one, and here many officers and 
men were buried. We were much disgusted to find that 
the authorities had seen fit to order our cemetery sold, 
after having levelled the graves and destroyed the 
tombstones and monuments. One of our vessels had 
been sent to look into the matter, and, after she had 
made a proper row, the governor promised to do what 
he could to protect the graves. We found that he had 
stuck up some small posts to mark the boundaries, 
where before we had a stone wall capped by a proper 
iron fence; and, not considering this much of an effort, 
we again made a row, and he again promised to do 
something; but I am sure he never intended to do 
more than get rid of us. I was anxious to teach him 
a lesson, but our orders would not permit it. I found 
that one of the tombstones from the grave of an 
American officer was being used for a chopping-block 
in a private house. Without much ceremony I had 
this removed to its proper place, and reported the 
whole matter to the Navy Department. We arrived 
at this place on May 23d, and, having replenished our 
coal supply, again started south, bound for Harpers, 
the American settlement on Cape Palmas, intending to 
call in at Freetown, Monrovia. 

On the morning of June 5th we ran in and an- 
chored off the latter place, where I had my first ex- 
perience with the native Africans. Their antics were 
only exceeded by those of our coloured countrymen 
who had sought homes here in their native land, or 
rather the land of their ancestors. As soon as we 
anchored, our minister to Liberia came on board, and 
was received with all the honours due his high posi- 

179 



A Sailor's Log 

tion. I found him a well-educated man, much given to 
self-admiration and the use of high-sounding words. 
He was very good-looking, of a commanding figure, 
very black, and named J. Milton Turner. He wore 
evening dress and a very becoming high hat. The two 
Harvard graduates, coloured, who accompanied him 
were apparelled in the same way. After a short visit, 
during which he talked incessantly of the call I was 
to make on the President of the republic, he took his 
departure, and was saluted with seventeen guns. At 
the first gun he stood up in the stern of his small 
boat, held his tall hat aloft in one hand, and the Ameri- 
can flag in the other. His efforts to balance himself 
as the boat pitched and tossed about made of him a 
striking figure. 

In an hour or so Mr. Turner was back on board, 
still in dress clothes, with a message from the Presi- 
dent that he would be glad to receive me that after- 
noon at a stated hour. We had taken on board at Porto 
Grande twelve Kroomen, trained surfmen, for service 
on the coast of Africa, to save our men from the effects 
of the sun. These men were named after the twelve 
apostles, and were regularly enlisted as a part of the 
ship's company. They were splendid specimens of the 
African boatman, and knew their business thoroughly. 
We also had a very able whaleboat, which I proposed 
using to land the officers, who, in full dress, were to 
form my staff in this visit of ceremony. When the 
boat was manned and ready to leave the ship, Mr. 
Turner insisted that I should go with him in his small 
boat, which I finally consented to do, to get rid of 
his importunities. I sent our whaler in first, and then 

1 80 



The President of Liberia 

consigned myself, epaulets and all, to Mr, Turner 
and his two oarsmen, feeling as I did so that I was 
taking chances both from drowning and from the 
vicious-looking tiger-sharks that were present in great 
numbers. 

The bar at the entrance to this harbour was 
known as one of the worst on the coast, and on this 
occasion the surf was breaking heavily on it. As 
we approached it I watched our whaler ahead of us 
to see how she would behave. The cockswain, a per- 
fect black Hercules, St. Paul by name, handled the 
steering oar, and at the proper moment sent the boat 
racing on top of a wave over the bar in the most ap- 
proved style. Our little cockleshell also went over 
beautifully, but not without wetting all of us pretty 
thoroughly. When we landed I asked Mr. Turner why 
he had insisted on my coming in with him, to which 
he replied, " You see, sir, if you had not landed with 
me, these niggers here would have said that you con- 
sidered yourself too good to come in the same boat 
with me." 

After a walk of five minutes over a bare, sun- 
baked clay hill, without one sprig of anything green, 
where the naked negro children were playing, uncon- 
scious of their nakedness, we came to the humble home 
of President Roberts, of the Republic of Liberia. He 
had been raised a slave near Petersburg, in Virginia, 
and I found him a person of pleasing manners and 
assured ability — just the man to preside over the 
destinies of his fellow-Africans. He had gathered his 
Cabinet about him, and I was presented to the differ- 
ent members — the Secretary of War, the Secretary of 

i8i 



A Sailor's Log 

the Navy, the Secretary of the Treasury, and so on 
through the Hst. During the conversation that fol- 
lowed I heard the rustling of a silk dress, and instinc- 
tively rose to my feet. There before me stood a short, 
neat, very black woman, and, without w-aiting for an 
introduction, I shocked myself by saying, " How do 
you do, aunty? " to which she replied, with a cour- 
tesy, " Very well, thank you, sir." I w'as instantly 
aware of my mistake in so addressing the wife of a 
President, but was relieved of all embarrassment by 
the hearty laugh of Mr. Roberts, and the query, 
" What part of the South do you come from, cap- 
tain? " 

Some very warm, sour champagne was served, and 
after pledging the high consideration of my Govern- 
ment for the Republic of Liberia, I took my departure, 
followed by the entire Cabinet and half a hundred 
naked young negroes, ranging from four to eight years 
of age. Mr. Turner insisted that I should call on each 
Cabinet minister according to his rank; and, for 
fear of giving ofTence, I did so. At each house or 
hut I was entertained with such food and drink as 
the owners possessed, and everyw^here a hearty wel- 
come. I was told — and it was painfully evident with- 
out the telling — that the people were wretchedly poor, 
and the revenues of the republic barely sufficient to 
pay the salaries of the Cabinet ministers, and therefore 
no public improvements could be undertaken. There 
was not the first sign of an army or navy, or indeed 
a need for either; yet the two secretaries were on hand 
and ready at least to draw their pay when the treas- 
ury was in condition to pay it. 

182 



Capturing a Shark 

After visiting the mayor I returned to the ship, this 
time in my own boat, and was most favourably im- 
pressed by the cleverness with which our Kroomen 
brought us over the wicked-looking bar. The sharks 
were snapping at the oars most of the way, and if we 
had capsized nothing could have saved us — at least the 
white men of the party; t he black s do not seem a fa- 
vourite article of food with these sea-tigers. Of course 
I had read, as many others had, very glowing accounts 
of the missions, churches, and schools of Liberia. I can 
only say they were conspicuous by their absence at the 
time of my visit. The word " republic " was never more 
abused and insulted and misused than by applying it 
to what I saw in Liberia. 

During the time we had been at anchor off Mon- 
rovia a particularly large man-eating shark had re- 
mained constantly about the ship, swallowing empty 
meat cans and such other trash as suited him. As soon 
as I had time to spare for him I prepared a beautiful 
bait for his dinner, which he took readily, and it was 
all twenty good men could do to capture him after 
he was hooked. We hoisted him up nearly to the 
main yard, and literally " shot him full of holes." 
More than a hundred rifle and revolver balls were fired 
through him, and, thinking he was dead, I had him 
lowered on the upper deck, and allowed such men as 
had a spite against him to stick their knives into him, 
if they could. He was old and had a very thick hide. 
Finally, one of the men took a battle-axe from a gun 
carriage and struck him a hard blow on the top of his 
head, which seemed to wake him up again. He raised 
himself as quick as a flash and brought his tail down 
13 183 



A Sailor's Log 

with a crack that made all hands stand clear of him 
in a hurry. We then killed him " entirely," as the 
Irishman said, by cutting his tail off, which of course 
severed his spinal column and put an end to him. 
After decapitating him I cut out fourteen feet of his 
backbone and had it cleaned and preserved, with the 
head, as a sample of what a man-eater is like in size. 

The stomach contained a curious lot of things: first 
I took out a turtle shell, which measured eighteen 
inches across the back and was as clear and transparent 
as the most beautiful piece one could see in a shop in 
Naples. Then I took out the thigh bone of a bullock, 
and a good large one it was. The last thing I found 
was a black flint stone weighing twenty pounds, which 
I suppose he had swallowed, or rather picked up, with 
the turtle from the bottom. I did not find any gold 
watches or diamond rings. When the jaws, which had 
four rows of teeth, had been dried and shellacked, I 
could pass them over the head and shoulders of the 
largest man in the ship without their touching his 
clothing. In other words, he could have swallowed 
an ordinary man without the trouble of biting him in 
two. I afterward presented them to the library of the 
Portsmouth Navy Yard, where they may still be an 
object of interest to the curious. 

From Monrovia we ran to Cape Palmas, which was 
to be the southern point of our cruise. On arrival we 
found there was no real trouble with the natives. 
They had threatened to lunch on some of our mis- 
sionaries, but had not carried out their threat. A short 
exercise on shore with a Catling gun firing at a tar- 
get, which we left for them to study over, convinced 

184 



Coaling under Difficulties 

them that they really could get on without eating 
American missionaries. 

The question of coal had now become a most seri- 
ous one; have it we must, but how to get it was 
the question. There was none in sight anywhere 
within our reach. The prospect of beating back under 
canvas against the trades was not a pleasing one. 
While on shore one day I made inquiries about the 
wreck of a large English steamer on the sands, and 
found that she had been loaded with prepared fuel — 
coal bricks they were called. On boarding her I 
found to my great satisfaction that the fuel was still in 
good condition, and that there was plenty of it. After 
some trouble I arranged with the owner to purchase 
as much as we could stow, and then hired enough na- 
tives to boat it off to us through the surf, which was 
always breaking heavily on the beach. We used our 
own boats for the purpose, but the sun was too hot to 
risk working our own men, except to stow the fuel 
after it was delivered on board. For four days we 
worked away steadily, and succeeded in getting enough 
on board to carry us back to Sierra Leone. 

Most of this time I was at work myself, spending 
many hours on shore and about the wreck, where I 
had a good chance of observing the native workmen. 
They were a muscular lot of savages, and, generally 
speaking, worked well. The lazy ones were stimulated 
by the head man with a good stout whip which he 
carried as a sort of badge of office. They were stripped 
to the skin, and had enormous pads of matted hair on 
their heads, which apparently was the growth and 
accumulation of years. I was interested in seeing 

185 



A Sailor's Log 

them feed. Wlicn meal time came each would pull a 
handful of Chili peppers, which were as hot as any- 
thing could be; then from the nearest tree he would 
secure half a dozen fresh limes, which he split open and 
salted; these, with hard bread and a small portion of 
dried fish, formed the ration of as hard-worked a lot 
of men as I ever saw. Their work was performed 
under a tropical sun, where white men could not have 
done anything-. On board ship we were practically 
living on salt rations, because there was nothing on 
shore to buy, except fruit, which was very good, and 
black pigs. Even the pigs in this country were black. 

We were glad to point the good ship north again, 
and when we anchored at Sierra Leone the offtcial calls 
fell to my lot, as the captain was still on the sick list. 
Tlie following extract from my journal is of interest: 

" On this occasion my stafY consisted of young 
Zeilin, of the marines, an excellent fellow. Wasn't it 
hot ! The house of the governor is on a hill about half 
a mile high, and when we arrived at the door the per- 
spiration was running over the tops of my shoes. The 
governor gave us some brandy and soda with ice, the 
first we had seen since leaving IMadeira, which had a 
wonderfully cooling effect. When we left, he invited 
us to dine the following evening, and we were quick 
to accept the invitation — grub has been awful on the 
coast of Africa. 

" After leaving Government House we had to 
climb about two miles more over the hills before we 
reached the barracks, where we had more brandy and 
soda and plenty of time to cool off. The ofTicers and 
men, part of a West India regiment, had just returned 

1 86 



An African Magnate 

from Ashantee, and had lots of interesting things to 
show and plenty to talk about. Among other things, 
the colonel had a couple of young boa constrictors 
about four feet long and very gentle, but able to give 
one a good squeeze if allowed to coil around the body. 

" On the way back to the ship I called to see the 
great character of Sierra Leone, one Sibyl Boyle. He 
had been taken from a slave ship when about eight 
years of age, and, having no name of his own, was 
given that of the ship Sibyl and of her Captain Boyle. 
He was an industrious lad, and gradually worked his 
way up, until now he is the richest and most influen- 
tial man in the place, and has a fine family around him. 
If some of his neighbours would only follow his ex- 
ample we might hope that some day Africa would be 
developed by her own race, but as things stand now 
the white race must eventually own the whole outfit." 

One of our officers, Lieutenant J. D. J. Kelly, was 
condemned by medical survey at Sierra Leone, and 
sent home via England. The doctors thought him in 
the last stages of heart disease, and doubted if he 
would live to reach London. I knew nothing about 
such things, of course, but differed with the medical 
men on principle; there should always be two sides to 
every question, and I took the only side left in this 
case. Kelly seemed much cheered up by my asser- 
tion that his heart sounded like a music-box to me, 
and he left us in fairly good condition. Twenty-five 
years after this I find him in good health, and writing 
very vigorous articles for one of the leading news- 
papers of his country. 

Having refilled our coal bunkers at Sierra Leone, 
187 



A Sailor's Log 

we put to sea and headed for Madeira; but the coal- 
dealer had done us a dirty trick — the coal would not 
burn; at least most of it would not, so we had to 
work up under sail to Porto Grande. On the way 
up we lost our first man by death since leaving Key 
West. He was a young chap who had run away from 
home to go to sea. He showed no concern about 
dying, and never gave me the slightest clew by which 
I could find his family, though I used my best efforts 
to make him do so. We sewed him up in his ham- 
mock, backed the maintopsail, hoisted the flag at half- 
mast, called, " All hands bury the dead! " and launched 
him overboard with a stand of grape for company on 
his long trip. 

Back once more at Porto Grande, we lost no time 
in cramming our bunkers full of coal and starting 
again for Madeira. This time I felt sure that we could 
not steam directly to our port of destination; I there- 
fore put the ship under sail and stood off into the 
Atlantic, determined not to get caught again as we 
were on the coast of Africa. The climate was now 
suitable, and I resumed the drills, which had been sus- 
pended for fear of overworking the men in the tropical 
sun. The effects of careful training and instruction 
were beginning to show, and I felt that we should be 
able to hold our own with the best of them when we 
finally reached the Mediterranean. 

Day by day we gradually gained on the island of 
Madeira, until T at last felt that I could safely start the 
engines and do the distance under steam. The sails 
were snugly furled, the light yards sent down, and the 
gentlemen of the engine room had us in their hands. 

i88 



News from Home 

We had been a long time in making the last lap of our 
trip, but on July i6th we ran in and anchored once more 
off the beautiful town of Funchal, in the island of 
Madeira. All hands were anxious for news of sweet- 
hearts or wives, and as soon as the health officer gave 
us a clean bill we sent in for our mails, and there came 
many fat-looking bags. For the first time in five 
months I had news of my family. In all that time my 
letters had been accumulating, and not a line had 
reached me. I had been rattled many times over the 
thoughts of what might have happened, but now it 
was all right. Going away to sea is awfully hard at 
times, but it is no end of fun when you come back 
again. I opened the latest-dated letter, and found that 
my people were all well and somewhere up in the north 
of England. I stowed the others away to be read when 
I had more time at my disposal. 

The captain was much improved since we left Porto 
Grande, and I was able to get him on shore at once, 
where I knew he would be comfortable away from the 
noises of the ship and the smell of the paint I was going 
to put on her. All hands took hold with a will, and at 
the end of ten days everything was in fine shape and the 
ship ready for any service she might be called on to per- 
form, while she was beautiful to look at, and I was not 
afraid to have any one inspect her. The captain had 
quite recovered, and was himself again — kind and 
genial, and a seaman every inch of him. When I had 
him on board and everything ready, we got under way 
for Gibraltar, where we arrived safely a few days later. 



189 



CHAPTER XVII 

IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 

At Gibraltar I was granted leave, and was fortu- 
nate enough to catch a P. and O. steamer the next 
day, bound for Liverpool. My fellow-passengers were 
for the most part of^cers of the English army inva- 
lided home from India, where they had been broken 
down in the Queen's service. They were a fine lot of 
patriotic men, anxious only to get well enough to re- 
join the colours and die in harness. My room mate 
was a Major McLean, of the Rifle Brigade, who had 
come to America with the troops sent over at the time 
the Trent affair threatened to involve us in war with 
England. We soon became very good friends, and 
he gave me much interesting information about his 
service in different parts of the world. He considered 
his experience at the time of the Trent affair unique, 
and it certainly was. When the transport with him 
and his men reached the mouth of the St. Lawrence, 
they found the ice so bad that they could not get to 
Montreal, so they went to a port in the State of Maine, 
and, by permission of our Government, were sent to 
their destination to get ready to come back and fight 
us. He thought it a very dangerous thing for us to 
have done, but I assured him that one or two brigades 

190 



At Marseilles 

of English troops, more or less, would not have made 
the least difference to us at that time, if we had made 
up our minds to fight. 

I found my family at Carlisle, in the north of Eng- 
land, and from there we journeyed slowly back to Lon- 
don, tarried there a few days, and then on to Paris, and 
shortly to Italy. 

After a delightful drive over the Cornice road, we 
arrived at Spezzia, where we found comfortable quar- 
ters and quite a navy colony at the Croce di Malta, 
a quiet, well-conducted small hotel, where one could 
have a charming breakfast in the open air under the 
shade of the fig trees. 

The Congress had in the meantime been docked 
and cleaned and thoroughly overhauled. I found her 
lying in the stream, looking smart and ready for work, 
which the admiral soon gave us with a liberal hand. 
After a week or ten days we joined the flagship at 
Marseilles, which was selected as a suitable port for 
giving liberty to our men, who had been on board 
steadily since we left Key West. Our three hundred 
and fifty, added to the eight hundred of the Franklin, 
kept the police force of the city pretty busy until their 
money was spent, when they once more settled down 
to their regular routine life. 

Captain English believed in the old custom of giv- 
ing liberty by watches, and this plan was followed in 
this case; but it was the last time it was ever done on 
that ship. It was favoured, I suppose, because the 
trouble was sooner over. I can't imagine any other 
reason for it. The idea was that the men would get 
drunk and raise all sorts of rows whenever they went on 

191 



A Sailor's Log 

shore, and therefore the more \vc sent at a time the 
sooner it would be done with. The men certainly 
justified this opinion at Marseilles. 

The captain went to Paris for a week, and so 
escaped much annoyance; but I had it to face, and it 
was very bad. I made up my mind that I would do 
all I could to prevent a recurrence of such scenes as 
I had witnessed, and, when the captain had had a full 
description of it all, I prevailed upon him to allow me 
to arrange the crew in conduct classes. After a rea- 
sonable time I found that the men could be relied on 
to behave themselves decently, and liberty was given 
them in every port we visited. Of course we had men, 
and I regret to say some of them the best seamen on 
board, who got drunk and fought the police every time 
they went on shore. The only reason we had them 
was because of this: if they could have controlled their 
taste for liquor they would have remained on shore. 
I had a very warm place in my heart for these chaps, 
and always found them leading when there was hard 
work to be done, and in the right spot when there was 
trouble. But they certainly were hard to manage. 
The great majority of our men were quiet, respectable 
lads, who went and came when they were olT duty and 
had money to spend. 

From Marseilles the admiral took us with him for 
a long cruise, stopping first at Barcelona, and then 
running down to Port Mahon in the Balearic Islands, 
where we landed the battalions of the two ships for 
shore drills. The ofificers senior to me were cither 
sick or had some other good excuse, and I was there- 
fore detailed to command, much to my disgust, for 

192 



Features of Port Mahon 

I have always found soldiering the least desirable part 
of my profession. We managed to amuse the natives 
of the island and please the admiral, so the drills were 
considered a success. The only real good of it all was 
the physical exercise the men received. In former 
years, when we maintained a large Mediterranean 
squadron of sailing ships, Port Mahon was our head- 
quarters, and the people, when we visited the port, 
seemed glad to see our ships once more, and treated us 
with great courtesy. 

All my life I had heard of two things that came from 
Port Mahon and from no other place. One was sobra 
sada, a sausage, made in a peculiar way, or rather from 
unusual ingredients; and the other date fish, a long 
shellfish much resembling a razor clam, which is ob- 
tained from the soft stones of the harbour and vicinity 
where he makes his home. The stones are broken open, 
and in the mass is found embedded this peculiar crus- 
tacean. I tried the qualities of both of them, and at 
once became a convert to sobra sada, which, broiled and 
served on toast, is one of the best breakfast dishes I 
have ever eaten. 

On the conclusion of our Port Mahon visit we 
ran off to the southward and cruised for some weeks 
about the island of Sicily, visiting several ports, and 
finally anchoring at Messina. Here we remained long 
enough to receive and send mails and get a taste of 
fresh food for the men, when we sailed for the Ionian 
Islands, visiting among other places Zante, which 
produced practically the supply of currants for the 
world. Then, after a stop in Suda Bay for target 
practice, we ran down to the Piraeus, and finally to 

193 



A Sailor's Log 

Naples, where wc moored in the inner harbour, pre- 
pared for a stay of ten days. 

While in Suda Bay I had one day to spare, which 
I spent on shore with my gun and an officer com- 
panion. We found very little in the way of game, but 
I was much interested in observing the Greek natives, 
who spend their lives in primitive simplicity. They are 
herders of sheep, and small farmers, as they think; but 
their poverty is beyond anything the farmers of the 
United States could understand. Even the inhabitants 
of our poorhouscs would consider themselves wealthy 
when compared with these excellent, hard-working, 
simple people. I stopped at one of their houses in the 
hills to get a glass of water to drink with my luncheon 
at noon. The family soon assembled about me, and 
offered me what they had in the way of food. This con- 
sisted of a large wooden bowl of black olives — olives in 
their natural state allowed to ripen on the tree — black 
bread almost as hard as a stone, and a cup of goat's 
milk. They never ate meat, and when I showed them 
a ham sandwich, which my servant had prepared on 
board ship, they made me understand that they had 
never before seen or heard of ham. and the same thing 
happened when I showed them a piece of cold beef. I 
wondered at the change that must have come to them 
since the creation of the Venus of Milo, which had 
been found in this country. 

We were moored near some Italian war vessel at 
Naples, and soon found friends among the officers. 
who took great pleasure in arranging short trips for 
us, frequently going themselves to show us objects of 
interest. Among these officers I came to know two 

194 



A Storm at Naples 

brothers very well. One morning it was rumoured 
that a duel had been fought, and one Italian officer 
instantly killed. Later in the day I learned that these 
two friends of mine had had a quarrel; that one had 
drawn a pistol and fired at the other, wounding him, 
and thinking that he had killed his brother, put the 
pistol to his head and blew his own brains out. The 
wounded brother recovered. Not much of a duel 
about that, certainly. 

We had been at Naples but a few days when a 
gale came on — one of those furious blasts that last 
only a few hours, but frequently do great damage. 
The stern chains of the Franklin, secured to the stone 
breakwater, began to show signs of parting, and the 
admiral, in order to ease things up, made signal for 
both ships to send down lower yards and topmasts. 
The spar drill I had so carefully given our men enabled 
us to land our lower yards across the rail in twenty 
minutes, leaving nothing showing above the hull but 
the bare lower masts, which was fine work, and most 
gratifying to officers and men. The Franklin was a 
much heavier-sparred ship than we were, and took 
nearly two hours to get things snugged down in good 
shape. The following morning, the gale having blown 
out, the admiral signalled, " Cross royal yards and loose 
sails to a bowline," as a colour evolution. The whole 
foreign fleet had their glasses on us, and we received 
compliments on the smartness of our drill. We felt 
sufficiently rewarded for all the hard work we had done 
when the signal, " Well done. Congress," flew from 
the flagship. 

From Naples we cruised along the coast of Syria, 
195 



A Sailor's Log 

and then ran on to Nice. Each ship had an allowance 
of coal for the year, and the greater part of ours had 
been expended, so that we could not expect any active 
cruising for several months. In fact, we remained 
tied up to a buoy for five months. It looked as if 
we would ground on our beef bones before we got 
away from it. Our race boat, in which I took a per- 
sonal interest, that extended to training the men, won 
from all comers and held the championship. Dur- 
ing the winter the Russian admiral came in with a 
flagship noted for her smart work aloft. We watched 
her drills carefully for a few days, and, having learned 
all her tricks, followed her motions and beat her badly 
in everything she tried. The decks of the Congress 
were particularly well suited for quick work, and her 
crew by this time was in excellent condition. Each 
man felt that the reputation of the ship depended on 
his personal efforts, and the result was all we could ask. 
Nice, only half an hour away, was crowded with 
visitors from all parts of the world, among them many 
of our own countrymen. We were invited, of course, 
to entertainments of every possible kind, which we had 
to accept and in some way return. This came hard 
on many of the officers who had only their pay to 
live on, and no allowance from the Government for 
entertaining, such as was given to the officers of all 
other navies — the " table money " of the English ad- 
miral was eciual to the whole pay of our admiral; but 
we had it to do, and we did it handsomely. We estab- 
lished Thursday as our reception day, and our dances 
were attended and enjoyed by guests from every coun- 
try in Europe, as well as a great many Americans. 

196 



At the Gamblinof Tables 



& 



Monaco was only half an hour away by rail, and 
many of us lost what Httle money we could spare at 
this fascinating gambling resort. I always secured a 
return ticket and reserved a few francs to pay the cab 
after my humiliating experience, when I had to wake 
my wife up in the middle of the night to borrow 
money to pay for driving me home from the sta- 
tion. Everything was done at Monte Carlo to at- 
tract people and make them enjoy themselves. The 
gambling games were fairly conducted, the cafes were 
the finest in Europe, and the music the best that 
money could furnish. The society was mixed. Most 
of the people who visited the place went first to the 
cafes, then to the gambling tables, and then listened 
to the music. Of course, there were some who 
listened to the music for the love of music, but most 
of those whom I observed looked as if they wished 
they had not come. I often felt that way myself. 
The great interest to me was watching the crowd of 
gamblers as they lost or won. As a rule, the Ameri- 
cans played the best game, and took their medicine 
most quietly. Occasionally some foreign chap would 
lose his fortune, and by way of making up for it blow 
his brains out; but this was a rare occurrence, as the 
guards were very clever men, and usually detected 
such characters in time, and shipped them ofif by rail 
to kill themselves somewhere else. 

Through the Catholic priest at Ville Franche and 
my own servants I learned of the great suffering 
among the poor of the town, and made up my mind to 
do what I could to relieve them. They were miser- 
ably poor, and the sufifering was very great. What 

197 



A Sailor's Log 

was left over from feeding our four hundred men and 
thrown overboard would go a long way toward pro- 
viding them with meals if the material could be util- 
ized. I had a number of large tin cans made with 
proper covers, and these at meal time were placed 
in charge of the police of the ship, who saw to it that 
all scraps of bread and meat and meat bones were col- 
lected and placed therein. All the coffee and tea left 
over were carefully saved, and the coffee grounds as 
well. Our men took an active interest in the scheme 
as soon as they understood what was intended, and 
we were able to feed four or five hundred people all 
the winter through. The Catholic institutions on 
shore received our cans every evening and returned 
them early the next morning in time for use after 
breakfast, and from their contents prepared good, rich 
soup and plenty of coffee and tea — much stronger than 
the poor peasants had ever known before. When I 
went on shore I was kept busy returning the salutes 
of those who had been comforted by our charity. It 
was a source of great satisfaction to me to feel that 
I had done some good to these deserving poor people. 
When the winter was over and gone, with all its 
gaieties, we went to cruising again. At Gibraltar we 
found many friends among the officers of the garrison. 
Among others I recall very clearly a captain of a 
Welsh regiment who was most amusing and witty. 
ITe came ofT to represent his regimental mess, and was 
prevailed upon to remain to dinner and take potluck 
with us. In a moment of misplaced confidence he 
told how the officers of the United States storeship 
Ino had dined with them during the civil war, and 

198 



A Race with Spaniards ^- \ 

how they had all gone under the table one after an- 
other. One of them, who wore false teeth, had been 
put to sleep in a large, comfortable chair in the cap- 
tain's room, and when the morning came there was 
no end of fun finding his teeth for him. I saw by the 
look on the faces of our fellows that the captain had 
sealed his fate by this story. At midnight they car- 
ried him ashore carefully, took him to his quarters, 
and deposited him in the identical chair where the Ino 
chap had lost his teeth. We saw him again after three 
days, when he assured us that we had done him up 
in proper shape. He really had a keen sense of 
humour. 

A new survey of the harbour of Malaga was 
wanted, so we ran up there, and Elmer, our navigator, 
soon had it completed. When we arrived we found a 
regatta arranged for the following day, in which we 
were asked to compete. Several twelve- and fourteen- 
oared Spanish boats were to race, so we entered our 
twelve-oared racing cutter, much to the satisfaction 
of the Spanish officers. They had never seen our peo- 
ple pull a race, and when we led their boats to the 
finish Hne by quite three minutes they never wanted 
to see them do it again. During our entire stay we 
were crowded with visitors, which was rather surpris- 
ing, in view of the relations then existing between the 
two countries; but they came by hundreds from all 
directions, and represented all classes of society, from 
the general commanding to the common labourer 
with his gamecock under his arm. 

On June i8, 1875, we anchored in Algiers, after a 
pleasant run from Gibraltar under sail. I enjoyed here 
14 199 



A Sailor's Log 

seeing a balloon ascension, the most successful one I 
ever witnessed. The balloon had been used in the 
siege of Paris, and afterward in the Carlist war in 
Spain, where it was captured, and the occupants only 
escaped being shot as spies by the earnest interference 
of the French minister. On this occasion everything 
worked perfectly, and the party, after sailing out over 
the harbour, at a height of about two miles, descended 
until they struck a current of air setting toward the 
land, when they rapidly disappeared behind a moun- 
tain ten or twelve miles away. 

Tunis was our next port, and we anchored there 
on July I St. The American consul, Mr. Heap, lived 
with his charming family about six miles out of town 
toward the ruins of Carthage; and here, after the of^- 
cial visit had been made, we found a most cordial 
welcome. Our country was ably represented at this 
point at least, and I could see the respect in which 
our consul was held by all classes. 

The Bey of Tunis had expressed a desire, after visit- 
ing the Congress, to see the effect of the fire of one 
of our Catling guns, and requested that we land one 
and give him an exhibition drill. The captain directed 
me to take the matter in hand and make the necessary 
arrangements, which I did on July 3(1. 

I had a small-arm target anchored at a point six 
hundred yards from the shore in front of the palace, 
so that the ladies of the harem could see the firing, and 
when everything was ready, landed the gun with its de- 
tachment and quickly went into action. 1 fired six 
hundred shots, and in the smoke, before any one could 
see us. dismounted the gun and placed it and the crew 

200 



Odd Sport at Carthage 

behind a stone wall. When the smoke cleared away 
there was neither gun nor man in sight. The firing 
took one minute, and in order to show the Bey the 
effect, the target was towed in, and he counted five hun- 
dred and thirty hits on it. He was rather stupefied at 
first, but later on complimented me on the drill of the 
men and the accuracy of the fire. After I had ex- 
plained to him fully the working of the gun in all its 
parts, he directed his secretary to order a battery of six 
of them, which was done. 

The numerous old wells at the ruins of Carthage 
contained great numbers of bullfrogs of an enormous 
size, and as I was fond of frogs' legs I started in a 
boat to try my luck on them. Fortunately, I took for 
the trip a very able whaleboat, the one we had used 
on the west coast of Africa. When we were about four 
miles from the ship we were caught in a sudden furi- 
ous gale of wind. For two hours we fought hard for 
our lives, and when we finally reached the ship we 
were all pretty well used up and of course as wet as 
rats, and had no frogs to show for our trouble. A 
great sea was running all about the ship, and it re- 
quired my best efforts to save the boat and get the 
men on board without losing some of them. We cele- 
brated the Fourth of July properly at Tunis, and in 
the evening got under way for Malta. 

This key to the Suez Canal had been fortified by 
the English until one could fairly say that it was im- 
pregnable. It was always strongly garrisoned, and the 
headquarters of the fine Mediterranean squadron. 
Our arrival was the signal for a round of dinners and 
luncheons that lasted almost to the hour of our de- 

201 



A Sailor's Log 

parture. I met, on this occasion, one of the most 
interesting men I have ever known — Colonel de la 
Fosse, of the One Hundred and First Regiment, Eng- 
lish army. He was a fine, brave old soldier, full of 
patriotism and love for his Queen. He had been in 
Cawnpore at the time of the Indian Mutiny, and was 
•one of the half-dozen oflficers who succeeded in cutting 
his way out. We spent many hours together, and I 
listened while he modestly recounted his experiences. 
We left this celebrated port and hospitable garrison 
with real regret, hoping that it would be our good 
fortune to visit them again. 

After leaving Malta we called in at Tripoli. We 
had orders from Washington to collect such articles 
as might prove of interest to the Centennial Exposi- 
tion to be opened at Philadelphia in the following 
year. The frigate Philadelphia had been burned by 
Decatur in this harbour, after falling into the hands 
of the Moors, and 1 knew that a piece of her wreck 
would be considered of interest. I therefore fitted a 
launch with proper grapnels and tackle, and after a 
long search located the wreck and was fortunate 
enough to secure part of a petrified timber which had 
been charred through. Many of the iron spikes by 
which the planking had been secured still remained in 
the piece, and it was curious to note the effect of 
heat and their long immersion in salt water. They 
were much softer than when first driven — in fact, were 
almost like soft lead. I secured one of them and 
afterward had a set of jewelry made from it for my 
wife by a jeweller in Geneva. The trinkets were beau- 
tifully finished and perfectly burnished, but no amount 

202 



Overawine a Pasha 



'£> 



of care would prevent them from rusting; the moisture 
seemed to exude from the inside of the metal. The 
piece of timber was boxed and sent to the Exposition, 
where I afterward saw it, and it was regarded as an 
object of much interest. 

Upon our arrival at Corfu we were thrown into a 
state of considerable excitement by the receipt of news 
that the American consul at Tripoli had been insulted*, 
by the Pasha, or some of his people, and that we were 
to be sent there to demand and exact proper repara- 
tion. We had lately been at that port and, having in 
view the nature of the defences, wondered how one 
wooden ship could do much against them. However, 
the orders came, and we left at once to carry them 
out. When we arrived off the town we found all 
hands much excited, and there was great marching 
and countermarching of troops about the batteries and 
through the streets. An officer was sent on shore to 
communicate with the consul, and when his boat ap- 
proached the landing place the crowd jeered and spat 
at him. He promptly returned to the ship and re- 
ported the afifair to the captain, who sent a company 
of marines and a Catling gun in to prevent a possi- 
bility of trouble. The officer landed without molesta- 
tion and soon had the consul on board. The Pasha, 
having heard of the conduct of the mob toward our 
boat, hurried to make ample apology, which was ac- 
cepted, and the insult to the consul was then taken 
up. He had reported the matter to the State Depart- 
ment, and our orders from Washington were positive. 
We were not to investigate anything, but to demand 
and exact ample reparation for what had taken place. 

203 



A Sailor's Loe 



o 



The consul insisted that he had been grossly insulted, 
and his premises invaded by armed Turkish sailors. 
The Pasha insisted that a thorough investigation 
showed that there had been no insult to him, but, on 
the contrary, the consul had attacked or assaulted a 
Turkish sailor, and it was only out of consideration 
for our Government that he was not fined and 
locked up. 

Our captain cut the discussion short by stating 
what his orders were, and that immediate apology on 
the part of the Pasha would prevent serious trouble; 
to which the Pasha replied by manning his batteries, 
and stating that he had done nothing to apologise for, 
and that the Sultan would cut his head off if he did 
it. At this stage of the game we cleared for action, 
swung our ship around so that the broadside would 
bear on the town, and sent word to his Excellency 
that if at the end of four hours we had not received 
his favourable answer we should open fire on the bat- 
teries. Within an hour after this ultimatum was de- 
livered the United States steamer Hartford, on her 
way home from China, came in, anchored near us, and 
cleared for action. The Pasha, thinking probably that 
the entire American navy was coming, decided that he 
would apologize at noon the next day. An officer of 
rank was detailed to witness the ceremony, which took 
])lace at the American consulate. The Pasha, a very 
dignified gentleman, did the proper thing in every 
way, said that he ate dirt in the presence of the 
offended person, and used many other figures of 
speech. The consul, a gentleman from tlic far South 
and not of a forgiving turn of mind, demanded that 

204 



A Trip on Land 

the dirt should be actually eaten, but our officer put 
an end to the business, brought the consul and his 
family on board for safe-keeping, and we sailed for 
Corfu, the orders of the State Department having been 
carried out to the letter. Those of us who knew the 
real facts in the case were not very proud of the whole 
performance. The consul was living on the seashore, 
some distance from town, when the Turkish fleet ar- 
rived and sent boats in to obtain water. One of the 
sailors ventured into the kitchen of the residence to 
obtain a light for his cigarette, where the consul found 
him, and, having boxed his ears soundly, kicked him 
out of the inclosure. The other sailors sat on a stone 
wall and jeered at the consul, who made complaint 
that the law relating to harems had been violated by 
this intrusion of the sailor, and hence the deadly in- 
sult. This was all there really was to it. 

Upon arriving at Corfu again I was granted a 
short leave, which I spent with my family in Switzer- 
land. When my leave was up I rejoined my ship at 
Naples, spending one day and night in Rome on my 
way there. This trip from Geneva to Naples will 
always remain in my mind as a horror. The weather 
was very hot, the cars very dirty, and the customs 
officers, on the various frontiers I crossed, very offi- 
cious and trying; but Naples was the same fascinating 
place. We joined the flagship at Villefranche to have 
our semi-annual inspection, which was somewhat over- 
due, and also to submit casually to the " bossing " 
which flagships always have in store for every one 
except the flagship. We got through our inspection 
very creditably, and immediately sailed for Leghorn, 

205 



A Sailor's Log 

where we were to have our decks calked and do some 
trifling repairs. After dropping both our bower an- 
chors in the stream, we w'arped our stern in and made 
fast to the breakwater, in order that we might not 
take up room in swinging, and also as security against 
the gales, which at times blew with great fury and did 
no end of damage. The breakwater was of stone, 
fifty-seven feet high, and most solidly built. 

The gale I had been looking for came at a most 
convenient time; the captain and his family had gone to 
Rome, and the calkers had nearly completed their work, 
when, without much warning, it struck us with hur- 
ricane force. I naturally thought that, secured as we 
were behind the breakwater, we were perfectly safe; 
but such was not the case. One of our chain stern- 
fasts crushed the iron pipe through which it passed, 
and in a few seconds ripped a hole in the side of the 
ship five feet long. This warning was instantly 
heeded, and in a short time our lower yards and top- 
masts were on deck, which left only the upper parts 
of our lower masts above the breakwater to catch the 
wind. At the same time our two heavy sheet anchors, 
which stowed well aft in the waist, were let go and 
the chains hove taut, which prevented the ship from 
forging ahead quickly and bringing up on her fasts 
with a jerk. When all this had been done we found 
ourselves very comfortable, but in a little while a new 
danger threatened us: the sea, wliich rose rapidly as 
the gale increased, began breaking over the top of 
the breakwater, and tons of water came pounding 
down on our decks. In face of this I could only 
batten the hatches down to keep the water from get- 

206 



A Lively Octopus 

ting below, and grin and bear it until the gale blew 
out. It was an annoyance rather than a serious dan- 
ger. If we had broken loose from the breakwater we 
would certainly have sunk six vessels as we swung to 
our anchors, not to mention the probable damage to 
the Congress. The idea of changing our berth was 
out of the question; we could only hold on to the one 
we had with all our might. 

After the gale had blown itself out, which it did in 
three days, the fishermen came back in large numbers 
and began fishing ofif the sea face of the breakwater, 
where the loose stone foundation, or riprap, attracted 
the fish in large numbers. I had given notice that I 
would pay a small sum for an octopus, the larger the 
better, as I thought I might be able to keep it alive 
until I could send it to Philadelphia. A few days 
after the gale I heard great shouting on the break- 
water, and one of the men came to me with the in- 
formation that my octopus was caught, or rather he 
had caught two fishing boats and half a dozen fish- 
ermen. He made things pretty lively for all hands at 
first, but some one succeeded in getting a rope around 
his neck, and by choking him nearly to death we 
eventually captured him and took him on board ship. 
After a long struggle I got him into a large tub, 
which he filled to the top, and where he seemed satis- 
fied. When the tub was suddenly flooded he would 
instantly dye the water as black as ink and so hide 
himself. I found, to my regret, that the rope about 
his neck had fatally injured him, and he died after I 
had observed him for three or four days. His ten- 
tacles were as large as a man's arm and ten or twelve 

207 



A Sailor's Log 

feet long. Each one was covered on the lower side 
with suckers, ranging in size from the body, where they 
were as large as a silver dollar, to the end of the ten- 
tacle, where they were smaller than a ten-cent piece. 
After he was apparently dead, if 1 struck my hngers 
quickly across one of the suckers, it would catch me 
every time. When he was alive and free to move in 
the water he could have drowned a man, or indeed sev- 
eral men at the same time, in a very few minutes. I 
was surprised to find later that the small octopus was 
largely used for food. 

When our repairs had been completed we returned 
to our winter quarters at Nice. Here we prepared to 
spend the winter much as we had spent the last one, 
but the Navy Department had other work for us, and 
late in November orders came for us to proceed, with- 
out delay, to Port Royal, South Carolina, and report 
our arrival. A few days only were necessary for our 
preparations and we were off, leaving a forlorn lot of 
women bravely waving farewells from the docks. Our 
captain was fortunate enough to be allowed to bring 
the ladies of his family home with him in the Con- 
gress, but the bitter attacks of certain newspapers had 
had their effect, and the day of the " family ships " 
was over for all time in our service. The station at 
Ville Franche was also broken up, and the ships sent 
cruising in various directions. 

As we ran down to Gibraltar for our final coaling 
the Gulf of Lyons took a last shot at us in the shape 
of a gale of wind, which blew viciously for two days 
and then let go. When it was over we drank cham- 
pagne as well as water out of teacups, for we had 

208 



A Ghost Aloft 

rolled pretty much everything loose, and broke all the 
crockery the mess owned. Two days were spent in 
coaling at Gibraltar, and I said good-bye to the 
Mediterranean for some years to come. We left many 
good friends behind us, and everywhere a record that 
was a credit to the country we had tried our best to 
properly represent. 

On the run to Madeira the superstitious feelings 
of our men, and indeed some of the officers, were 
much excited by a curious incident. We were under 
sail and the moon shining brightly, when, for some 
reason, it became necessary to shorten sail. When 
the topgallant sails were clewed up there stood 
a man on the fore-topgallant yard clearly outlined 
against the flapping canvas of the fore royal. The 
officer of the deck hailed the officer of the forecastle 
to know what that man was doing aloft, and was 
assured in reply that the men were all on deck. But 
there stood the man in plain sight in the moonhght. 
The officer then hailed him, but could get no answer. 
Finally he sent a man aloft to tell the chap, whoever 
he was, to come down at once and report on the quar- 
ter-deck. All hands were by this time much excited, 
and waited anxiously to see what would happen. Just 
as the man who had been sent from the deck reached 
the foretop, the figure on the yard disappeared, as if 
he had fallen overboard. The watch was mustered 
and all hands were found to be present. After this 
sleep was out of the question; the men stood about 
in groups, watching the fore-topgallant yard, waiting 
to see the figure reappear, many of them too fright- 
ened to reason, and all of them expecting some awful 

209 



A Sailor's Log 

disaster to befall the ship. On the following night, 
when the moon was about in the same relative posi- 
tion to the ship, the sails were again clewed up, and 
after changing the course slowly a few times, there 
was the man again standing in the same position on 
the yard. The mystery was solved: a shadow from 
some of the canvas on the mainmast was responsible 
for the ghost. 

Another of our ships had had a very curious ghost 
experience while cruising in the IMediterranean, which 
is well worth recording. At about midnight, when 
over a hundred miles from land and while everything 
was perfectly quiet about the deck, the sound of a 
tolling bell was distinctly heard. It could be plainly 
heard by the officer of the deck as well as the men, 
and it continued for several minutes. To the crew it 
sounded like a funeral bell, and they decided that some 
one was going to die. With much difficulty the men 
were finally sent to their hammocks and ordered to 
keep silence. The next morning the story was all 
over the ship, from the forecastle to the officers' 
messes. When night came again many had forgotten 
the incident, but at about the same hour the tolling of 
the bell was again distinctly heard, and the whole 
crew gathered on deck to listen in superstitious si- 
lence. The officers were much puzzled, and many 
theories were advanced to account for the strange and 
unusual noise. The third night found captain and all 
hands, officers and men, on deck, determined if pos- 
sible to find a solution of the mystery. At the proper 
time the sound of the bell came clear and distinct, toll- 
ing as if for a funeral. The captain and several of the 

2IO 



An Ineffective Fleet 

officers then began a careful investigation, which soon 
cleared the matter up. The galley of the ship, where 
the cooking was done, was under the topgallant fore- 
castle, about twenty feet from the ship's bell. The 
fires in the galley were put out at nine o'clock, and it 
w^as found that at a certain point in the process of 
cooling the contracting of the metal in the galley 
made it give out a cracking noise which accorded 
with certain tones in the bell and caused it to ring. 
The very puzzling ghost story was solved, and the 
men went to their hammocks, many of them still shak- 
ing their heads and predicting that there was trouble 
in store for somebody. 

From Madeira we literally rolled our way across the 
Atlantic. After coaling at St. Thomas, we reached Port 
Royal, where we found a few old monitors and one or 
two small vessels, all in ignorance of the reasons for 
assembling a fleet at that point, the orders for which 
had been issued. Captain English was to be the senior 
officer for a time, and it turned out later that we were 
assembled for the purpose of drilling the men. It was 
recognised on all hands that our ships were rapidly 
deteriorating, and Congress did not seem disposed to 
give us any new ones. It was the beginning of that 
long period of neglect of the navy by Congress that 
made officers' hearts ache. All we could do was to 
keep the men in good shape, which we certainly did, 
and hope that a change would come to our rulers. 

Admiral LeRoy arrived in February, and took 
command of the squadron, which consisted at that 
time of ten or twelve ships. We had been drilling 
steadily all the time, but now the work was vastly 

211 



A Sailors Log 

increased. Owing to the length of time we had been 
in commission and the careful training the men had 
received, we easily led all the ships except the 
Brooklyn. She had been flagship of the Brazil squad- 
ron, and showed the effect of careful, painstaking 
work. It required our best efforts to keep even with 
her. There w^as much talk of a racing cutter she car- 
ried that had beaten everything in the South, and when 
she challenged us for a five-mile race our chances of 
winning were considered very poor. Our crew was in 
excellent shape, but our boat was not as good as the 
Brooklyn's, which did not prevent our men from bet- 
ting all the money they had on the result. When the 
stakeboat was reached, our boat was just two lengths 
behind, a part of which they made up on the turn; and 
in the pull in, two miles and a half against a strong 
tide and stiff wind, they passed the Brooklyn's boat 
and won at the finish by forty-nine seconds. It was 
one of the hardest races I ever saw pulled, and con- 
dition told, as it always will, in such a contest. 



212 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE CENTENNIAL AND TRAINING-SHIP DUTY 

As the result of an inspection held at Port Royal 
by one of the bureau chiefs of the Navy Department, 
the Congress was selected to represent the navy at 
Philadelphia during the Centennial, and we found our- 
selves moored off the foot of Arch Street early in May. 

The part played by the Congress in the Centennial 
of 1876 was most creditable to the navy, and very ex- 
pensive, though gratifying, to her officers. She repre- 
sented the navy, and was seen and admired by thou- 
sands of Americans from all parts of the country. The 
opening day I landed in command of the crew, who, 
with a detachment of marines, were the only United 
States forces in the parade, and therefore held the 
right of the line. After marching fifteen miles, much 
of the way in mud halfway to our knees, we were 
placed in position to receive the President and his 
party when they had formally opened the Exposition. 
I waited in the broiling sun nearly two hours after the 
time set, when I was informed that the crowd had 
walked over the militia and surrounded the President, 
so that it was not possible to move him. I marched 
my men through the crowd, extricated the Boston 
cadets from a very unpleasant position, where they 

213 



A Sailor's Log 

had been placed to do police duty — in which they had, 
of course, failed, after much soiling of their white 
coats — and soon had things moving again. After one 
of the hardest days I ever knew we returned to the 
ship, and without a single man straggling or showing 
the effect of drink, and all because they had pride in 
their ship and their service. 

We remained at Philadelphia until late in July, 
when we were ordered to Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire, to pay ofT and go out of commission. Before 
sailing, however, the Board of Inspection put us 
through our paces, and the following letter shows how 
well we performed. It was written to Admiral Porter, 
and signed by Commodore John Guest, senior officer 
of the board: 

" Philadelmiia, July S, 1S76. 

" Sir: The board has inspected the U. S. 5. Con- 
gress this day. 

" It is not enough to say that she is in good order 
in all her departments and an efficient man-of-war. 
The whole organization and condition is as near per- 
fection as our system will admit. She is admirable. 

" To Captain Earl English and his executive offi- 
cer, Lieutenant-Commander R. D. Evans, great praise 
is due for the handsome and creditable specimen of 
the American navy which they have exhibited here 
at this Centennial period. The board has taken great 
pride and pleasure in observing the condition of this 
ship." 

This letter was in addition to the regular inspec- 
tion report, which did not contain a single unsatis- 

214 



Long-Distance Signalling 

factory answer in the long list of questions. I men- 
tion this as a tribute to the officers and men who made 
up the splendid crew of the Congress. 

When we reached Portsmouth and were ready to 
haul down the flag over what had been such a happy 
home to us all, I was shocked at the number of 
boarding-house sharks that flocked about the ship, 
ready to reHeve the men of all their belongings. I 
made up my mind to " do " those same sharks, if I 
could; and I did. I arranged for a special train to 
run through to New York and Philadelphia, which 
backed into the navy yard, and when the pennant 
came down the whole crew, with their bags and ham- 
mocks, marched into it instead of the boats which 
were waiting to land them in the rum mills. I went 
through on the train myself, and when I saw the men 
land clean and sober near their homes it gave me a 
very lasting thrill of pleasure. 

After the Congress I enjoyed two months' leave, 
getting acquainted with my family again. I was then 
ordered to signal duty in the Navy Department in 
Washington, where, with the able assistance of Lieu- 
tenant Maxwell Wood, I developed and patented a 
signal lamp for long-distance signalling, which per- 
formed its functions very satisfactorily. When winter 
came, however, I found myself looking about for a 
ship, and, owing to the good reports about the Con- 
gress, I was ordered to command the training-ship 
Saratoga, one of the old sailing sloops of war. She 
had been lying in reserve as a gunnery ship at An- 
napolis, and required a complete overhauling and re- 
fitting, which we gave her at the Washington yard. 
15 215 



A Sailor's Log 

In the spring I sailed in her, and for four years com- 
manded her, doing the pleasantest duty that has fallen 
to me in peace times during my naval career. 

My duty was to enlist American-born boys be- 
tween the ages of fifteen and eighteen years, and drill 
and educate them for the naval service — not to serve 
as officers, but as enlisted men, to man the ships and 
fight the guns. The first crew I enlisted came from 
the section of country about Washington and Balti- 
more, and a fine, hardy lot they were. The pleasure 
of watching them grow up and develop into strong, 
self-supporting men was very great. One unforeseen 
trouble met me from the start. I could not hold the 
boys back. They would learn more than was required 
of the ordinary deck hand, and during the first year 
of my command I placed quite a dozen of them on 
merchant vessels as mates. I finally concluded that I 
had gone too high in the social scale for the material 
to start with, and, though I was doing a splendid 
work, I was not getting the men we wanted. Then I 
tried what is called the " gutter snipe," and there I 
found just what I was looking for. When caught at 
the right age, and then properly educated and treated, 
the boy of this class made his home in the navy, and 
was willing to spend his life there. 

During my four years in command of the Saratoga 
I had many interesting experiences. I enlisted boys 
from all parts of the country, and necessarily saw the 
conditions surrounding the lives of the poorer classes 
in many difTerent cities. After one trip to Boston, 
where I enlisted several hundred boys, I was satisfied 
that education, or rather over-education, was doing 

216 



Mental Over-training 

great harm in New England. Book schools were not 
doing what industrial schools would have accom- 
plished. Because a tailor or a shoemaker had been 
President, every tailor's and shoemaker's son was be- 
ing educated to fill that high office, and the result was 
bad — in many cases very bad. Over-training of any 
kind is not good, and I found mental over-training the 
worst of all. My experience — and I had plenty of it — 
was the same over and over again. Each morning 
when I went to my office at the navy-yard gate I 
found a long line of fairly well-dressed boys with very 
shabbily dressed parents. In every case the boy had 
spent his life at school, winding up in many instances in 
the high school, and after that finding nothing to do. 
The parents were striving hard and stinting them- 
selves that the boys might appear well and dress like 
gentlemen, while the lads were growing more and 
more ashamed of their surroundings and their honest 
fathers and mothers, who had been and are to-day the 
bone and sinew of this great republic. To save them 
from pool rooms and worse, they begged me to enlist 
them as apprentices in the navy and begin anew their 
educations. I almost had it in my heart to wish that 
every high school in Boston would burn to the 
ground, and that every boy and every girl should be 
taught to work with their hands and make a living, as 
their honest parents had done before them. 

While commanding the Saratoga I crossed the 
Atlantic four times in her, each time with a crew 
composed in most part of boys. On one trip I ran 
a line of soundings from Cape Hatteras to Horta, in 
the island of Fayal, and thence over some supposed 

217 



A Sailor's Log 

shoals to the southward of that island, and then to 
the coast of Africa. This duty was wonderfully inter- 
esting, particularly when, after two hours' hard work, 
1 was rewarded by holding in my hand a specimen of 
the bottom, which had been hauled up in some cases 
through over two miles of water. The microscope 
showed beautiful lacelike shells, which I afterward 
found extended in a belt from Petersburg, Virginia, 
to the vicinity of the Western Islands, where they be- 
came covered with volcanic ooze. On this trip I had 
with me Mr. F. B. McGuire, of Washington, who 
acted as agent of the Smithsonian Institution, and 
made a large and very valuable collection of fishes, 
which was highly valued by Professor Baird and his as- 
sociates. Upon my return I was able. to make a good 
report of work done, not only in the way of training 
boys, but upon deep-sea soundings and the food fishes 
of the Western Islands. 

I had expected to have many accidents among the 
green boys, from the constant drills aloft with spars 
and sails; but when my time was up a careful exami- 
nation showed that I had no fatal accident, and only 
a very few serious ones. The rivalry among the boys 
was very great, and once I had the whole crew bet- 
ting as to which one of two boys could beat the other 
over the royal yard. To decide the question I started 
them aloft one evening just before sundown, as we 
were fanning along under full sail before a light breeze 
on the edge of the Gulf Stream. They were both as 
active as cats, and went aloft very rapidly, but one, 
in passing the maintop, unfortunately lost his grip on 
the rigging and pitched over backward. I was stand- 

218 



The Boys' Good Work 

ing on the deck watching them, and as the lad fell, I 
distinctly heard his head strike the projecting muzzle 
of a gun, and I supposed he was instantly killed. 
One of the officers whipped of¥ his coat, and was in 
the act of jumping overboard to his rescue when the 
boy called out that he was all right. In a few min- 
utes he came up over the stern, having caught one 
of the trailing life lines, and was apparently none the 
worse for his ducking; but the moment he saw the 
blood which was streaming from a wound in his head 
he fainted dead away. His scalp was pretty well torn 
from one side of his head, but in a few days he was 
running aloft again as smartly as ever. 

On one of my trips I ran up the Mediterranean 
as far as Naples, and on my way back fell in with the 
English fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir Beauchamp 
Seymour, who afterward bombarded Alexandria. We 
were all anchored together for ten days at Ville 
Franche, and my sailing ship was closely watched by 
the captains of the splendid ironclads. The work of 
my boys pleased them greatly, and the admiral paid 
us many compliments on the smartness of our drills. 
Captain George Tryon commanded the Monarch, and 
he and I had so much in common over our shooting 
and fishing yarns that we formed a friendship which 
continued until he found his grave in the unfortunate 
Victoria. I always regarded him as one of the best 
of our cloth, and a great credit to the British navy. 
In the same fleet was a jolly young lieutenant, Hed- 
with Lambton, who afterward performed such gallant 
service in South Africa. I knew him again in Chili 
when I commanded the Yorktown and he the War- 

219 



A Sailor's Log 

spite. Our acquaintance ripened into a warm friend- 
ship, which I value very highly. Among other com- 
manding officers of Admiral Seymour's fleet I was 
glad to meet Captain Freemantle, of the Invincible, 
who had recently performed an act that did him 
great credit. He was on the bridge of his ship when 
one of his men fell from aloft and struck the water 
with such force that he was disabled and rapidly sink- 
ing. Without a moment's hesitation, and with all his 
clothing on, the captain sprang into the sea, made a 
long dive, brought the disabled man to the surface, 
and saved his life. 

My pleasure was much enhanced during my last 
cruise in the Saratoga by having on board, as my 
guests, three officers of our army. Colonel Warner and 
Majors Randolph and Taylor, of the artillery. They 
saw much to interest them in the various ports we 
visited, and were lavishly entertained at the different 
garrisoned towns. The following extract from my 
journal will give an idea of what our life was in port: 

" Of course, beating a sailing ship through the 
straits is no ^un, and even dangerous at night, owing 
to the number of steamers running through, and the 
danger of collision; but we had a fair night, and of 
course I had to be on deck all the time. As I had not 
had my clothes off since four o'clock Monday morning, 
I required numerous cups of coffee to keep my eyes 
open. 

" Mr. Sprague, the consul, came on board at ten 
o'clock, and at noon we all started in full feather to 
call on the officials. We found Lord Napier of Mag- 
dnla most polite and agreeable and thoroughly in- 

220 



English Hospitality 

terested in America, and a great Grant man. After 
our call on him, we paid our respects to the naval au- 
thorities and the officers of one of the regiments, and 
when we came home found an invitation from the con- 
sul to dine with him; also a notice that an English 
officer would show us through all the galleries at lo 
A. M. to-morrow. While we were at dinner two cards 
came from Lord and Lady Napier of Magdala, one 
for an * At Home ' for to-day, the other a formal invi- 
tation for dinner on Thursday. We also had an in- 
vitation from the mess of the Forty-sixth Regiment 
for Friday, all of which we have accepted. We have 
our hands full. 

" Gibraltar, 12th June. — Wednesday we had a de- 
lightful dinner with the consul, after having visited 
all the galleries and the signal station on the top of 
the rock. 

" Thursday we dined with Lord and Lady Napier. 
No end of style. The ladies were all charming, after 
the fashion of English women. The gentlemen left 
the table with the ladies, and did not return to their 
wine, which is a new fashion brought here by Lord 
Napier from India. It has many good points, I think, 
but the English do not fancy it much. 

" Yesterday we went through the town, made some 
purchases, and in the evening dined with the Forty- 
sixth Regiment — and a most delightful dinner we had — 
returning to the ship at midnight. I like the way these 
English regiments hold on to their traditions. The 
Forty-sixth during our War for Independence were in 
America, and on account of some bad conduct of their 
men our general issued an order that no quarter 

221 



A Sailor's Los: 



t> 



should be shown them; that any one of them caught 
should be at once executed. The colonel of the Forty- 
sixth thereupon had a red pompon placed in the hats 
of his oflicers and men as a part of their uniform, and 
sent word to our man that they were the only people 
in the British service who wore the red pompon, and 
he could with safety execute any one found with it 
on. The pompon can be seen in the crest of the regi- 
ment, and they are having just now a bitter fight about 
it. When the Forty-sixth came here. Lord Napier 
noticed the red on their hats and could find no order 
permitting it, so he directed its removal; but the colo- 
nel and offlcers have petitioned the Queen to allow 
them to use it. After dinner they showed us the Bible 
on which General Washington was made a Mason. 
One of our army officers offered a thousand guineas 
for it, but the colonel replied that they had already 
refused forty thousand dollars for it. It was once cap- 
tured by our people and returned to the regiment; and 
the French got it twice, but each time sent it back. 

" Sunday, p. m. — We have been up to our eyes in 
Englishmen. Yesterday morning we were engaged to 
breakfast with the Forty-sixth. Our breakfast was an 
entire success, and when we went to the range our 
friends of the Forty-sixth met with a most crushing 
defeat. After we had beat them with our own gun 
we took theirs — the Martini-Henry — and beat their 
best score. About four in the afternoon Colonel Ben- 
nett turned out his regiment and gave us a drill which 
was beautiful to see. We got back at seven and 
dressed for a dinner at the engineers' mess, for which 
we had accepted an invitation. We had a beautiful 

322 



A Big Gun 

dinner, and got on board at midnight. I had intended 
going to sea to-day, but when we got on board found 
a note from Lord Napier, saying that he had ordered a 
target put out, and would have the thirty-eight-ton 
gun fired for us Monday afternoon. As each shot 
costs fifty guineas (!), of course we had to stay, and so 
shall not get away until Tuesday. I was shocked on 
our arrival here to get a telegram saying that Zeilin 
had been killed. Poor Billy! He must have been 
thrown from his horse. Before we left home he had 
been riding in a very desperate sort of way, and his 
friends had predicted that he would come to grief. 
Now I must get to bed and try to make up the lost 
sleep of the last three nights. 

"At Sea. Off Cape de Gatte, i8th June. — We man- 
aged to get away from Gibraltar Tuesday morning, 
and I flatter myself we did it handsomely — much bet- 
ter than our New York affair, of which so much was 
said. The night before we left we had an awful 
' ranky ' dinner with the artillery, which was very en- 
joyable. We had much scientific talk, but managed 
to pull through. 

•' Tuesday afternoon Lord and Lady Napier and all 
the swells turned out to see the thirty-eight-ton gun 
fired, and it was evident from the first that we were 
to be immensely impressed. After the gun had been 
cast loose and run into battery, we were shown how 
easily it would work, and with what perfect accuracy it 
could be controlled. Just as the colonel in charge was 
telling me this, the monster got away from them, and 
out it went with a bang that almost upset the carriage! 
Of course, all hands caught the mischief, though it was 

223 



A Sailor's Log" 

simply due to a lack of knowledge of the complicated 
machinery. It took over ten minutes to load the gun, 
and when it was fired at a target, about a mile away, 
the shot struck seventy yards short and bounded 
heavenward. When it was loaded the second time and 
all ready, the order was given to fire, but the primer 
failed, and they continued to fail for four or five min- 
utes, when, by pouring powder into the vent, they 
managed to get it ofT. This shot struck fifty yards 
over. The third and last shot stuck in the gim, so that 
it took some fifteen minutes to load it, and when it 
was fired the projectile went one hundred and twenty 
yards wide of the target. Lord Napier was awfully 
disgusted, as well he might be, and we were not in the 
least bit impressed or frightened." 

We made a new record for sailing vessels from 
Gibraltar to Naples, and I was much gratified at the 
comments of the Italian officers when we entered the 
latter port. We ran in under all sail and picked up 
our buoy without lowering a boat, and then furled 
everything very smartly, which, in that day of mastless 
ironclads, attracted much attention. 

After several weeks of interesting cruising I 
reached Villefranche, where I found that I had not 
been forgotten. The following from my journal shows 
that my kindness to the poor, when executive officer 
of the Congress, had made a lasting impression: 

" Jlllcfrauche Sur Mcr, lyth July. — Night before 
last I was. as I had expected to be, up all night. In 
the morning at daylight we were in the mouth of the 
harbour, but not a breath of air; so we hoisted out the 
boats and towed her in. The place looked as natu- 

224 



A Boar Hunt 

ral as possible, but I missed the face of the old pilot, 
who used always to get thirty francs when one of our 
ships came in. The same old one-gun battery returned 
our salute, taking about half an hour to do it. As 
soon as we were anchored I sent for the mail, and be- 
fore long my old friends began to pour in. First came 
the bumboat people, and then the washerwomen. I 
could not remember the name of one of them, and 
was really ashamed when they all knew me and were 
so glad to see me, and asked after my children. I 
suppose a dozen or more of them had interviewed me, 
when Carolina (my former cook) came and wanted to 
cry at sight of me, but I talked too fast for her. The 
poor soul has had great trouble, and her husband has 
deserted her, leaving her with three children to sup- 
port. I sent for my steward, and gave orders that she 
should have plenty for them all to eat while we remain 
here. Carolina had not gone, when Antionetta Allari 
came rushing at me past the orderly, who had by this 
time made up his mind that it was no use trying to 
stop them. Antionetta is fat and lovely, and was dis- 
posed to kiss me, and with tears in her eyes asked 
after my wife and children. Then came Angelica in 
the same way, and I don't know how many more, all 
asking after my family." 

On one of my trips to Tangier my old friend 
Colonel Mathews arranged a wild-boar hunt for me, 
which I enjoyed very much when it was over. After 
riding on horseback about fifteen miles over a very 
rough country we came to the jungle where the first 
drive was to be made. A tribe of Moors, under their 
venerable old chief, were to do the driving, and I was 

225 



A Sailor's Log 

to do the shooting. The chief inspected my gun, a 
Hotchkiss magazine service rilie, and suggested that 
I take a double-barrelled shotgun and load it with 
balls; but 1 preferred to work with the tool 1 had 
selected, with which I was familiar. He explained 
to me that the cover was very thick where I was 
going to shoot, and that the pig would be close to 
me before I saw him; and that I would only have 
time for two quick shots before he charged and was 
on top of me. I was not over well pleased with this 
description of what I had to face, but decided that I 
would kill with my magazine rifle or let the pig go. 
I had not the least intention that he should get me. 
When we had penetrated the jungle half a mile or 
more we found a well-beaten pig-track, and, selecting 
a favourable point, I took my station. The chief ex- 
plained that I would first hear the dogs, of which they 
had a large number, give tongue; then I would hear 
the men shouting as they drove the pig in my direc- 
tion; and, finally, when sure that he was coming to 
me, they would fire blank cartridges in their guns to 
keep him moving. The old man took his departure 
and left me alone with my gun. I looked about me 
for a convenient tree up which I might climb in case 
of necessity, and having found one a few yards from 
my station, felt decidedly more comfortable. Then I 
waited while the flies buzzed about my head and the 
mosquitoes stung me wherever my skin was exposed. 
I was almost on the point of giving up the job when I 
heard the far-away barking of a dog, and then a dozen 
or more joined in. and the sound came rapidly my 
way. I examined the gun to make sure that it was 

226 



A Jackal Shot 

ready, and while doing so found that my hands were 
shaking just the least bit. However, I was out for 
pigs, and it sounded as if a whole drove were coming 
my way, and I must have one at least. The baying 
of the dogs was now mixed with the shouting of the 
Moors, and in a few seconds I heard the guns begin. 
About thirty yards from where I was standing, and 
in the direction of the dogs, there was a slight rise in 
the ground, and while I was intently watching for the 
pig I saw his head come above the weeds and grass 
on this rise. He stopped for a moment, and, with his 
head partly turned from me, was apparently trying to 
judge the direction in which the beaters were coming. 
I considered him quite close enough for comfort, and, 
throwing the gun to my shoulder, fired at a point 
about where I supposed the point of his shoulder-blade 
to be. Then I stepped nearer my tree and, with the 
second cartridge ready to fire, waited to see what 
would happen. Everything was quiet where the pig 
had been for a few minutes, then the dogs and men 
were upon us. 

When I found there were no pigs coming, I walked 
out and met the chief, and showed him about where 
one had been when I fired at him. On approaching 
the spot, there he was, sure enough, and as dead as a 
herring. He was a vicious-looking beast, with tusks 
seven inches long, and weighed over five hundred 
pounds. At close quarters he would have used a man 
up in very short order. A second drive was decided 
on, and this time I fired at something I saw moving 
in the bushes and killed a jackal, which pleased the 
Moors better than the killing of the pig, as this animal 

227 



A Sailor's Log 

destroyed many of their sheep. Before I left Tangiers 
I secured a young wild pig, which became a great pet 
on board ship. She finally came to an untimely end 
from eating too many live-oak acorns at Fortress Mon- 
roe. Like all pigs on board ship, male or female, she 
was named " Dennis," and soon learned to chew to- 
bacco and drink strong hot coffee. 

On the way home I stopped at Madeira, and then, 
taking the trades, ran to Fortress Monroe in twenty- 
six days. After transferring my crew of boys to ships 
in service, I proceeded to Baltimore, moored to the 
dock, and prepared to ship another crew of green 
lads and be ready to take them to sea in the spring. 
My time was up, however, and I could not object to 
my detachment, which came in the early winter. I 
had been in command four years, and had thoroughly 
enjoyed the work, which was of vast importance to 
the country and the service, and to me personally most 
attractive and interesting. Most of the boys who 
came under my care have advanced to warrant or 
petty ofificers. Those who left the service have good 
positions on shore; scarcely a week passes that I do 
not meet some of them, and they are always glad 
to speak to me and say a good word for the old ship. 
When war comes, they all flock back to us and do 
most excellent service. It would be a good thing for 
the country if we had twenty Saratogas always in 
commission, making better men of those who sail in 
them, whether they follow the sea or find their places 
on the land. 



228 



CHAPTER XIX 

METALLURGY AND LIGHTHOUSES 

From the Saratoga I was transferred at once to 
the position of equipment officer of the Washington 
Navy Yard, where in a few weeks I found myself 
deeply interested in the manufacture of chain cables 
for the navy and gun forgings for the ordnance. Sea- 
manship, with all its pleasures, had to be set aside 
for the time, and hard thought and work given to 
metallurgy. The change was very sudden, but only 
what every officer has to be prepared for, and the 
effect was undoubtedly good. We were on the edge 
of the experimental period, during which the navy was 
to shake ofif the mould that had been accumulating 
since the period of the civil war and once more occupy 
the proud position it had held in former years. 

While I was busily engaged in making experiments 
on steel cables and anchors, and trying to find, with 
a new fuel (vaporized petroleum), a satisfactory means 
of welding steel. Secretary Hunt organized the first 
Advisory Board for the rebuilding of the navy. The 
board was composed of able officers of the line, en- 
gineer and construction corps, and was presided over 
by Admiral John Rodgers, who was probably the best- 
equipped officer in the service for the position. I 

229 



A Sailor's Log 

was fortunate enough to be ordered as a member of 
the board. We sat during the entire summer of 1882, 
and our report was submitted to the Secretary, who 
recommended action by Congress. This was the first 
step taken toward rebuilding the navy, but it was 
many years before actual work was begun. 

A short time after the board was organized I sub- 
mitted a resolution, to the effect that all vessels rec- 
ommended by the board should be built of steel. This 
precipitated a discussion which lasted many months 
and caused much comment both in and out of the 
service. I state the fact of having offered the reso- 
lution only because I wish to assume the responsibility 
that necessarily attached to it. The line officers, as a 
body, stood with me, as did several of the engineer 
officers, but the officers of the construction corps were 
solidly against the proposition, on the ground that we 
could not make the material, and that American ship 
builders cruld not build steel ships. The issue was 
clearly dravn, and the discussion, whicli covered a 
wide field, became at times heated. Finally, the Naval 
Committees of the two Houses of Congress were 
asked to meet the board in the office of the Secretary 
of the Navy to hear the finish of this important matter. 
The meeting was held, and those favouring steel as 
the material for all naval constructions won the day. 
It was this action of naval officers that opened the 
way to the steel industry of the United States, to out- 
strip all its foreign competitors, as it has undoubtedly 
done. 

At the time this action was taken, it was true, 
as claimed by the constructors, that we could not 

230 



Ordered to Baltimore 

manufacture steel plates in this country; but it was 
only because there had been no demand for them. 
Once having the demand, the supply followed 
promptly, and it was of the best quality. We were 
buying steel gun-forgings and shafting abroad only 
because we demanded them in such small quantities. 
When we wanted enough of them to make their manu- 
facture a paying venture, our own people produced 
them in any desired quantity and of any specified 
quality. I shall always feel proud of the work, small 
though it was, that I did in connection with the Ad- 
visory Board of 1882. 4- 

When I had served less than two years as equip- 
ment of^cer of the Washington yard I was detached 
and ordered as inspector of the Fifth Lighthouse Dis- 
trict, with headquarters at Baltimore, Maryland. The 
change from metallurgy to a disbursing ofBcer under 
the Secretary of the Treasury and the care of buoys 
and lighthouses was radical, but it was a part of my 
profession and therefore to be done. Being a dis- 
bursing officer without bond frightened me somewhat 
at first, but I soon found that it was easy work, re- 
quiring only care and honesty. The duty was pleasant 
and congenial, and kept me very much in the open 
air, with fine opportunities for shooting and fishing, 
which I did not neglect. My district extended from 
Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Beaufort, North Caro- 
lina, and included all the buoys and Hghthouses in the 
navigable waters within those limits. 

The condition of the lighthouse service at that 
time was far from satisfactory. The appointment of 
the keepers was in political hands, and though the 
16 231 



A Sailor's Log 

inspector had the examination of the men, it was 
practically impossible to prevent the appointment of 
those who rendered political service. An attempt to 
do this was the cause of serious trouble to me long 
before my tour of duty was completed. I found that 
the light-keepers were being assessed a portion of their 
pay for political purposes, which was clearly illegal, 
and when I directed them to refuse to pay such assess- 
ments I became persona non grata to a certain class 
of men having political power but nothing else to 
commend them. They were quite honest with me, 
however, and served notice on me that unless I 
changed my ways I would come to grief, which I 
eventually did. 

A certain fellow, who had been elected a delegate 
to a political convention, was nominated to be light- 
keeper as a reward, but was found so disreputable on 
examination that I refused to pass him. I would not 
submit to dictation in my duties by a set of men quite 
as disreputable as the suggested keeper, and on this 
issue I was detached and placed on waiting orders. 
Report was made to the Secretary of the Navy that 
I was interfering with political conditions in the Fifth 
District, and, without asking a word of explanation 
from me, I was punished by being relieved and placed 
on reduced pay. It was, of course, a gross injustice, 
and caused no end of comment in the newspapers; 
but I took it as quietly as possible, and have always 
felt contented that I was not personally known to the 
man who could so far degrade the high ofifice he held. 
The navy had in some ways degenerated into a job 
lot, at least in the eyes of those who used it for their 

232 



On Waiting Orders 

own purposes, and was sometimes let to a very low l-' 
bidder. ' 

Finding myself on the beach, as it were, because I 
would not take a hand in politics, rather than because 
I had done so, and knowing that I would not have 
employment again during the time of the Administra- 
tion then in power, I asked for leave for a year, with 
permission to leave the United States. In the ab- 
sence of the Secretary of the Navy the request was 
granted, and I was busy making preparations to en- 
joy it, when a telegram came from the Secretary re- 
voking my leave and again placing me on waiting 
orders. I was really of more importance than I had 
considered myself, and I must be made to feel my 
punishment. However, I had felt the sting of in- 
sects before in my life, and did not consider them of 
much importance. 

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company was 
about to build a large steel bridge over the Susque- 
hanna River at Havre de Grace, and Colonel Henry 
T. Douglas, the able chief engineer of the company, 
offered me a position as inspector of material, which 
I was glad to accept. In a few days I was installed in 
my office at Pittsburg, and had charge of the inspec- 
tion of all bridge material for the Baltimore and Ohio 
road. It proved most congenial work to me, and 
thoroughly occupied all my time, giving me an insight 
into the manufacture of various kinds of steel and the 
working of the mills that was to prove of great benefit 
to me personally as well as to the Government. The 
bridge in question was the first one in this country 
constructed of Bessemer steel, and caused much 

233 



A Sailor's Log 

trouble before it was finally completed. The Carnegie 
firm had the contract, and its familiarity with steel rails 
led its members into the error of supposing that a 
bridge could be built of the same sort of stuff. The 
process of convincing them that this was not the case 
caused serious delay and much friction, but in the end 
Mr. Andrew Carnegie showed his admirable qualities, 
and carried out his contract to the satisfaction of all con- 
cerned. The bridge was completed, and proved to 
be all that Colonel Douglas claimed for it. In the 
meantime I had learned, from hard experience, many 
things about the manufacture of steels that I could not 
have learned in any other way. It was on my sugges- 
tion that Mr. Carnegie first seriously considered the 
question of starting a plate mill for the manufacture 
of ship plates. Aside from what I had actually learned, 
the acquaintance I had made among men engaged in 
the steel industry was to be of vast importance to me 
in the years to come. 

When the Administration had changed, and Mr. 
W. C. Whitney, the prince of secretaries, had taken his 
place as Secretary of the Navy, there was a sense of 
relief among us all. His business methods soon be- 
gan to show excellent results, and his fair treatment 
of those under him made officers and men alike feel 
that he was their friend. After he had been in office 
but a few weeks he sent for me, and, telling me frank- 
ly what the reports against me as inspector of the 
Fifth District had been, heard what I had to say 
in rc[)ly. I was immediately ordered to resume my 
duties in Baltimore; but, in view of the large amount 
of work I had on hand in Pittsburg, I was allowed 

234 



Lighthouse Service 

to delay one month in order that I might com- 
plete it. 

Once more in the lighthouse service, and this time 
with the assurance that my side of any controversy 
would be heard, I felt that I could do many things 
to the benefit of the service. The change of Adminis- 
tration brought with it a desire on the part of the 
smaller politicians for a complete change in the 
keepers of all lighthouses, as well as in other Govern- 
ment places. The Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Lighthouse Board decided that political opinion was 
not a suflCicient cause for removal. If a keeper was 
found neglecting his duty he was to be removed at 
once; but in all cases where charges were preferred 
against them keepers were to have a fair investiga- 
tion, and justice was to be done them. Charges were 
written against nearly every keeper in the district, 
and many of these documents were worthy of Thomas 
Jefferson or Henry Clay. I carefully investigated 
every case, and, after hearing all the evidence, sent in 
my report. Out of over four hundred keepers I found 
it necessary to recommend the removal of one, and one 
only, for neglecting his duties to do political work. 

One case on investigation amused me very much; 
it is a fair sample case. The keeper of a light on the 
western shore of Chesapeake Bay was charged with 
ofifences enough to have hanged a dozen men. The 
language of the report against him was, as I have 
stated before, worthy of Thomas JeiTerson. I notified 
all the witnesses to be at the station on a certain 
day to give testimony in the case. After a long hear- 
ing the lawyer who represented the side of the com- 

235 



A Sailor's Log 

plainants admitted that he had failed to show cause 
for removal; but the charge of drunkenness still had 
to be heard. The witness to this charge was a fisher- 
man who had been playing cards with the accused 
keeper, and upon being sworn testified that he, the 
keeper, was undoubtedly drunk — very drunk. I asked 
what the indications of drunkenness were. " Well, 
sir, the accused was playing * seven up ' with me, and 
had only two to go when I dealt him the Jack and 
deuce, and he begged; now, you can't convince any 
man in Matthews County, Virginia, that a man who 
would do that wasn't drunk; certainly he was drunk, 
sir, and ought to be turned out." I sent to the Treas- 
ury Department many cases where the evidence wasn't 
even as incriminating as the above. 

I found most of the keepers of lighthouses in Vir- 
ginia waters were coloured men put in office by Gen- 
eral Mahone and his followers. Many of them had to 
be removed, generally because they would go to sleep 
and neglect their lights. One of them I had to re- 
move for a very curious offence, or rather he removed 
himself when he found I was going to do it. I visited 
the station where he was on watch, and was inspect- 
ing, when I noticed that he followed me about, spit- 
ting frequently when he thought I was not observing 
him. I learned from the principal keeper, a coloured 
Methodist minister, that the fellow was chewing herbs 
and spitting around me as a hoodoo to prevent me 
from reporting the various irregularities I discovered. 
When he found that I had reported them all, and 
asked his removal as well, he jumped overboard and 
was not seen again. 

236 



r 



New Ships 

When Congress had appropriated money for new 
ships, Mr. Whitney detached me from lighthouse duty 
and ordered me as chief steel inspector, with an office 
in the Navy Department. The rebuilding of the navy 
had begun in earnest, and the work could not have 
been in the hands of a man who understood better how 
to handle it. In addition to being an able business 
man of broad gauge, Mr. Whitney knew how to select 
his subordinates and get the best work out of them. 

I went to work at once on the specifications for 
the material for the new ships, and it was at this time 
that I felt most the advantages my Pittsburg experi- 
ences gave me. I was confident of what the steel men 
could do, and I therefore made the specifications 
harder than those of the British admiralty, which had, 
up to this time, been considered quite difficult to fill. 
When I had secured the services of a sufficient number 
of line officers to look after the inspection of the ma- 
terial, I went with them to the different mills and 
showed them just how the work was to be done. In 
a wonderfully short space of time everything was 
working smoothly, and the shipyards were being sup- 
plied as rapidly as they could use the material. This 
was not accomplished, however, without much com- 
plaint from certain steel mills. They thought the 
specifications too severe, and declared that they could 
not fill them; but I knew better, and was able to con- 
vince the Secretary that it would be bad policy to 
change. I knew, of course, that pot metal was cheaper 
than steel, and that our people would go on making 
pot metal until we forced them to do something bet- 
ter. Men were not in the business for their health, 

237 



A Sailor's Loe 



& 



and if they could get steel prices for pot metal, so 
much the better. Many of the leading firms saw the 
advantage of working to a high standard, and they 
admitted afterward that our specifications and inspec- 
tion had been the very best thing for them in the end. 
It was marvellous to see with what rapid strides our 
people went ahead, until in a few years we could 
make better stuff than any of the celebrated foreign 
concerns. Eventually the United States became a 
dangerous rival in the steel markets of the world. It 
is a pleasure to know that I lived to see it, even if I 
had so little to do with accomplishing the result. 

When everything was running smoothly and the 
steel being supplied satisfactorily, the Department 
found a new job for me. I was ordered as naval secre- 
tary of the Lighthouse Board, and at last I was in 
position to do many things I had long hoped to ac- 
complish. Mr. Fairchild, the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, was a most progressive and able business man, 
and saw the good to come from many of the things 
I proposed. With the approval and assistance of the 
board, I succeeded in having the lighthouse keepers 
put into a proper uniform, and their appointment 
entirely removed from any chance of political inter- 
ference. 

I had long felt the necessity of some system of 
lights by which large vessels, particularly the ocean 
liners, could enter the harbour of New York during the 
night instead of lying outside and waiting for day- 
light. Captain Fred Rodgers, the able inspector of 
the Third District, and Lieutenant-Commander Mac- 
kenzie, his assistant, gave me their cordial assistance, 

238 



All about a Buoy 

and by united effort we worked out and installed the 
system of electrically lighted buoys now in use. I 
supplied the money and they the brains, and between 
us we scored a great success. New York was the first 
place in the world to be supplied with such buoys, and 
from the day they were put down vessels came in at 
night as readily as in daytime. 

In my efforts to aid the seafaring people, know- 
ing well their necessities, I sometimes encountered 
very curious opposition. A whistling buoy was placed 
in the entrance to Newport Harbour, where the dense 
fogs made navigation very dangerous for the thou- 
sands of passengers who entered and left Narragansett 
Bay. The captains and officers of vessels on that part 
of the coast were very grateful, but in a few weeks one 
of the leading landed proprietors on Bateman's Point, 
a man of wide scientific reputation, complained of the 
buoy as a nuisance, and brought every possible influ- 
ence to bear on the Lighthouse Board to have it re- 
moved, regardless of the interests of commerce. He 
finally asserted that the noise made by the buoy was 
so dreadful that it turned the milk sour in his fine herd 
of Jersey cows. When we had secured a proper site 
and built a lighthouse and fog signal to protect the 
dangerous point the whistler was removed, and the 
professor again had sweet milk for his breakfast. 

After getting my work in the Lighthouse Board 
in good shape, I was given a job in shipbuilding in 
addition to my other duties. Congress had made an 
appropriation for building two armoured cruisers in 
Government dockyards, and one of them was to be 
constructed at the New York yard. For some reason 

239 



A Sailor's Log 

there was great delay in starting the work, which did 
not meet with the business views of Mr. Whitney. He 
sent for me and, after discussing the case somewhat, 
said to me: " We have everything that the Cramps 
have — engineers, constructors, draughtsmen — every- 
thing except Cramp; yet we can't get the ship started. 
I want you to be Cramp, and get things moving." So 
I went to New York, and in my very Hmited way tried 
to play the part of the great shipbuilder Cramp, who 
has no peer in his line of work. The keel of the Maine 
was promptly laid and the material rapidly procured, 
but, owing to the lack of proper machinery and the 
vast amount of red tape encountered under the mon- 
strous bureau organization of the Navy Department, 
progress was very slow. I well remember striking a 
small water pipe while placing the foundations for a 
plate-bending machine, and the month and more of 
anxious work to find out which bureau owned it, and 
then to get it moved a few feet. I generally left 
Washington on Monday, spent Tuesday and Wednes- 
day with my able assistants in the New York yard, 
and on Wednesday night returned to my work in the 
Lighthouse Board. I had always held that it was bet- 
ter for an officer to wear out rather than rust out. 
About this time I was confident that I was not in 
danger of rust. 

When the Harrison Administration came in I felt 
the need of rest, and at once applied for a year's leave, 
which was granted. I intended to take service with 
the newly organized Nicaragua Canal Company, but 
V finding that undesirable, was employed by a New York 
syndicate, which was to engage in the manufacture of 

240 



An Unseaworthy Ship 

wood fibre under a new process. This opened to me 
a new field of study, and I was busily engaged look- 
ing over the various water powers in Maine and ex- 
amining the supply of spruce wood, when suddenly, 
without warning, I was ordered to command the 
United States steamer Ossipee, at Norfolk, Virginia. 
I was to sail as soon as possible, and take Mr. Fred- 
erick Douglass, our minister to Hayti, and his family 
to Port-au-Prince. The ship was reported by the yard 
officials as unfit for sea on account of the condition 
of her boilers. Certain newspapers assumed that I did 
not fancy the job, and had therefore, in some mysteri- 
ous way, disabled the ship, to avoid obeying my orders. 
As the ship had plenty of canvas, I was confident that 
I could sail her to Hayti, and I was very sure she 
would drift back with the Gulf Stream when I had 
landed the minister; so I wired the Secretary that, 
notwithstanding the report about the boilers, I was 
prepared to carry out the orders he had given me. At 
the same time I assured him that I had no feeling 
as to the cargo he might order carried in a Govern- 
ment vessel, be it ammunition, ministers, dynamite, 
or mules. I had known Mr. Douglass all my life, and 
entertained the highest respect for him. Another ves- 
sel was ordered to convey him to his station, and the 
Ossipee, on closer inspection, was found too rotten 
even to permit of repairs. After being in command 
two weeks, I was again granted leave and allowed to 
go on with my outside work. 

When I had fairly mastered my subject I was di- 
rected to erect a sulphite-fibre mill at Appleton, Wis- 
consin, which I did, and in nine months had it com- 

241 



A Sailor's Log 

pleted and turning out first-class sheets of wood fibre. 
During the winter I was engaged on this work the ther- 
mometer frequently went as low as 30° below zero, and 
once touched 39° below; but the air was very dry, and 
I enjoyed every hour of the time. My water power 
was at last harnessed, and when all the water wheels 
were running and the vast mass of machinery doing 
its work, I felt well repaid for my labour. The knowl- 
edge I gained was of great benefit to me afterward 
when I found myself in command of a ship with her 
seventy-odd engines of various kinds. 



242 



CHAPTER XX 

THE YORKTOWN's CRUISE TO CHILE 

In August, 1 89 1, I was ordered to command the 
gunboat Yorktown, then in the North Atlantic Squad- 
ron, known as the " White Squadron," from the fact 
that the ships were all painted white. I joined her in 
New York, relieving Commander F, E. Chadwick, who 
had commanded her since she was first placed in com- 
mission. She had the reputation of being a strong, 
well-built ship, very fast in smooth water, but a little 
tender in a heavy sea. Her officers were able men, 
and her crew very smart and well up in their drills 
and exercises. Ten days after I assumed command the 
squadron, under command of Admiral Walker, got 
under way and passed up through Hell Gate, the 
flagship Chicago leading. We visited a number of 
New England ports where fairs and shows of various 
kinds were being held, and where the presence of a 
number of war ships would add to the attractions of 
such gatherings. It was not very exciting work, and 
was in many ways unpleasant duty, but the ships be- 
longed to the people, and we were only too glad to 
show them how their money was being used. In re- 
turn for what little courtesy we could show them the 
people were kind and generous in their treatment of 

243 



A Sailor's Log 

us, and entertained us with true New England hos- 
pitality. 

At the end of September I was ordered to New 
York to prepare at once for foreign service. A few 
days later orders came for us to proceed without de- 
lay to Valparaiso, Chile, and repoit to the admiral 
commanding the Pacific station for duty. The 
Chileans had for a year past been fighting among 
themselves, and unfortunately much bad feeling had 
been shown toward us, particularly toward our navy, 
by the revolutionary party in this war. The friction 
between the two countries had become acute, and the 
prospect of active service, possibly war, gave great in- 
terest to our cruise. We worked incessantly night and 
day, and on October 8th I hauled out from the navy 
yard and that evening put to sea. As we passed 
Sandy Hook the storm signals were flying, and every- 
thing indicated a northeast gale; but for the time 
being the wind was fresh from northwest, and we ran 
for Hatteras with all sails set and a fair wind. The 
long northeast swell that was felt all the next day 
warned me not to lose any time in getting across the 
Gulf Stream if I wanted to avoid trouble. Owing to 
the reputation the ship had of being tender under can- 
vas, I did not drive her hard for the first day or two. 
but gradually, as we learned her tricks, we gave her all 
she could stand, and I found to my surprise that she 
was as stifif as a church, and could easily carry all her 
canvas. 

We ran just ahead of the northeaster until we 
reached the latitude of Bermuda, where we found 
beautiful weather, which we held until we arrived at St. 

244 



A Heavy Sea 

Thomas, We made the land in the afternoon just 
before dark, and were fortunate enough to get in in 
time to avoid a hurricane which passed to the south 
of us during the night. We coaled in eight hours, and 
by noon of the following day were off again, bound 
for Bahia, in Brazil, which was to be our second coal- 
ing port. As we passed through the beautiful West 
India Islands the marks of the recent hurricane were 
all about us in the shape of trees and debris blown off 
from the land. These Windward Islands are certainly 
as grand in scenery as any in the world. I did not 
wonder at the enthusiasm of Columbus and his ras- 
cally crew of thieves as they sailed about there in 
search of the yellow metal and slaves. For the first 
few days out of St. Thomas the Yorktown raised Cain, 
because she had a heavy following sea which made 
her roll very badly. I had my chair lashed, and so 
managed to hold on, but I was about the only thing 
in the cabin that did. One minute she was down on 
her beam ends apparently, the next second she was 
down on the other side, and in the interval she had 
done more different kinds of things than any ship I 
was ever in before; but she did them all very easily 
and with comfort to her crew. Writing in the cabin 
was impossible, and there was not much sleep to be 
had, owing to the constant throbbing of the screws. 
The weather grew hotter as we ran south, and the fire- 
room force suffered severely before they became sea- 
soned to the heat. We crossed the line in fine weather 
for Neptune, who came on board for a visit. We gave 
the afternoon to him and his antics. 

During the night of October 28th the wind sud- 
245 



A Sailor's Log 

denly whipped around to the south and lilcw a hard 
gale from that quarter. We drove head into it all 
night, and at daylight had the land in sight ahead and 
on both bows, but nothing that we could recognise. 
My cabin had been ilooded during the night, and I 
had spent my time on the bridge, so was well pleased 
when the navigator found something he could swear 
by. We had been set out of our course eighteen miles 
during the night, but now wc had the entrance buoys 
in sight, and in a short time were anchored in the har- 
bour, eleven and a half days from St. Thomas — not a 
bad run for the little ship. It was my first visit to Ba- 
hia. and I found the city, as viewed from the water, 
very pleasing. The health officer, a much-begilded 
dago, paid his visit and assured me that there was no 
fever on shore, the health of the place in his opinion 
being perfect. I took this with many grains of salt, 
and gave the necessary orders to guard against infec- 
tion if possible. 

The coal men, bumboat men, and various other 
sharks were soon on board. Coal was twelve dollars 
a ton, but have it I must, no matter what the cost, 
and arrangements were made to fill my bunkers at the 
earliest possible moment. The American consul soon 
came on board, and from him I learned that the 
Chileans had killed several of the crew of the Balti- 
more and wounded many others in the streets of Val- 
paraiso; that the Boston and Atlanta had been ordered 
out. and that other vessels were soon to follow. Of 
course, we were much excited over the news, and most 
anxious to hurry on our way. We drove the coal 
men to their limit day and night. 

246 



A Pig Lost 

I had lost so much sleep during the last days of 
the run from St. Thomas that I found myself quite 
done up; but a few hours' sleep, a fine fresh lettuce 
salad, a pineapple, and many glasses of iced water 
quite put me on edge again, and I was ready for what- 
ever might come my way. In the late afternoon a 
German steamer from Santos, Brazil, came in and an- 
chored a short distance astern of us. The health offi- 
cer visited her and then came to inform me that she 
had six cases of yellow fever on board, and had lost 
her chief engineer and four men of the crew from the 
same disease on her way up the coast. It was only 
after I had used some very strong language that this 
brass-bound individual returned and shifted the steam- 
er's berth to the quarantine ground. He had assured 
me that there was no yellow fever on shore, but 
I did not believe a word he said, and never went on 
shore myself nor allowed any one else, except those 
having important business, to go. On October 30th 
I received a telegram from the Secretary of the Navy 
to proceed to Montevideo and there await further in- 
structions. This, of course, might mean anything — 
change of orders, or to await the arrival of more ships 
before proceeding. One thing I was sure of, however, 
and that was that I was to lose no time in getting to 
the point indicated; and I did not. As soon as the 
coaling was completed and mess stores taken in I put 
to sea. The caterer of the \vardroom mess complained 
of the difficulty of getting necessary articles, and the 
loss of one very important one in the shape of a black 
pig. The pig had been brought on board, but dis- 
appeared in a very mysterious way — it was supposed 
17 247 



A Sailors Log 

that he had gone overboard through one of the 
ports. 

When once more outside and heading for Monte- 
video, we found the sea very heavy, caused by a strong 
southwest breeze. About six o'clock in the evening of 
the third day out the clouds began to bank up a little 
in the southwest, and occasional flashes of lightning 
could be seen, which gradually increased, until by half 
past eight it was one vibration of light. The effect 
was most alarming, but at the same time grand and 
beautiful. The brain was stunned and the eyes 
Winded by it. As yet not a sound of thunder could 
be heard, though the storm was evidently approaching 
us with great rapidity. 

I stood on the deck aft watching it, and when, at 
about 9.30, it struck us, I was blown down as if by 
some heavy weight. Our sails, though furled, were 
snatched off the ship in a second, and went whirling 
through the air like great birds straight up over the 
mastheads. At the same moment the thunder broke 
over us like forty batteries of artillery, and the electric 
fluid running down our conductors was sufficient to 
make the whole deck as bright as noonday. It was 
the most awful, grand, and beautiful sight I ever saw. 
Of course, I realized that a whirlwind had struck us. 
Nothing could be done to save our sails — they were 
gone; but T could do something to ease the little 
frigate and help her out of the scrape. 1 rang full 
speed ahead, and pointed her up to the wind so that 
T passed through the blessed whirlwind in the shortest 
possible time. Just ten minutes after it struck us it 
was gone, and so were all our sails and much of our 

248 



At Montevideo 

rigging; but I was satisfied to get off as well as we 
did. It was the beginning of a nasty, hard, southwest 
gale which blew all day, and, in fact, at intervals in 
various directions for several days afterward. 

All day Wednesday we had to head her up to the 
sea and slow her to six knots, as she was taking in too 
much water over the bows; but with it all she proved 
herself a perfect beauty, and one of the best sea boats 
I was ever in. I was on the deck constantly, of course, 
watching everything, increasing speed whenever prac- 
ticable, and so managed to plug along, and on the 
morning of November 7th, at three o'clock, made 
Maldonado Light, and anchored at Montevideo in the 
forenoon. What a difference — October 8th in New 
York, November 8th in Montevideo! We certainly 
had made a good run, doing the distance, including 
stops, in thirty days, which, I believe, was the best 
ever done by a vessel of war. 

The usual calls were made on me at once, and in 
returning them I got a good wetting, as there was a 
heavy sea running, and the place was totally unpro- 
tected by anything like a breakwater. The whole 
South Atlantic came tumbling in when the wind was 
in the right direction, and made it very nasty. Cap- 
tain Lang, of the Cleopatra (English), came on board 
in a driving rainstorm to call. He had been in com- 
mand of the Chinese navy at one time, and I found 
him a most interesting man to talk to. Soon after he 
left me the rain turned into a southeast gale, and by 
night it was howling at a great rate, the ship pitch- 
ing as if she were at sea. This was not promising for 
taking the coal, which I had ordered to be alongside 

249 



A Sailor's Log 

at daylight in the morning. However, I went to sleep, 
hoping that it would pass off as suddenly as it came. 
I knew that everything in that part of the world, from 
the form of government to the rise of the tide, 
changed with great rapidity. In this, however, I was 
mistaken; the weather grew worse rather than better, 
and the ship began walking away with her anchor. A 
second anchor brought her up, and she rode it out, 
pitching bows under in the heavy seas which were 
breaking clear over the Cleopatra. 

As soon as I arrived I wired the Navy Department 
the fact, stating that I would leave in five days, that 
time being necessary to complete the new sails which 
had been ordered, and some of the canvas cut in two 
hours after my anchor was down. The following day 
I had a cable from the Secretary of the Navy directing 
me to proceed to Valparaiso, which was very satis- 
factory. I got under way at once from the outer an- 
chorage and took the ship inside, where I ran her on 
to the mud so that we might coal. She was soon a 
mass of coal dust from stem to stern. 

On the way down from Bahia, and when five days 
out from that place. I had a curious experience with 
the pig the wardroom mess had lost. At two o'clock 
in the morning I was aroused by my orderly, who an- 
nounced, " Sir, Dennis is found." " Who the devil is 
Dennis," I replied, "and why do you disturb me?" 
He explained that Dennis was the lost pig, that he had 
been found in a coal bunker, was very weak and ill. and 
they wanted the captain to come out and see if anything 
could be done for him. So out I went, and found 
the ship's cook with the pig in his arms feeding him 

250 



Farewell to the Vizcaya 

them all, I could but be struck with this splendid phase 
of war. The beautiful white quarter-deck of the Iowa 
was soon stained with the blood dripping from the wet 
clothing of the wounded, and she looked as if she had 
been used as a slaughter pen. 

Presently a boat came alongside bearing Captain 
Eulate, commander of the Vizcaya. That was a sight 
I shall never forget as long as I live. In the stern, 
supported by one of our naval cadets, sat the captain, 
v^overed with blood from three wounds, with a blood- 
stained handkerchief about his bare head.. Around 
him sat or lay a dozen or more wounded men. In the 
bottom of the boat, which was leaking, was a foot or so 
of blood-stained water and the body of a dead Spanish 
sailor which rolled from side to side as the water 
swashed about. The captain was tenderly placed in a 
chair and then hoisted to the deck, where he was re- 
ceived with the honours due his rank. As the chair 
was placed on the quarter-deck he slowly raised himself 
to his feet, unbuckled his sword belt, kissed the hilt of 
his sword, and, bowing low, gracefully presented it to 
me as a token of surrender. I never felt so sorry for a 
man in all my life. Of course I declined to receive the 
sword, or rather I instantly handed it back to Captain ; 
Eulate, but accepted the surrender of his officers and; 
men in the name of Admiral Sampson, our commander S 
in chief. My men were all crowded aft about the deck 
and superstructure, and when I declined the sword the 
brave hearts under the blue shirts appreciated my feel- 
ings and they cheered until I felt ashamed of myself. 

As I supported the captain toward my cabin, he 
stopped for a moment just as we reached the hatch, 

451 



A Sailor's Log 

came when our credit was down and our vessels could 
get neither money nor credit, and at this moment Mr. 
Evans stepped in and put his entire fortune and all he 
could borrow at the disposal of our people, saying 
that he would back the United States for all he was 
worth. After the war was over he received his money 
back with a good interest, and he at once invested in 
real estate, which went up with a boom, and he was 
immensely wealthy. Then he bought two blocks of 
land in the edge of the city and proceeded to make his 
home, w'hich was like fairyland. Not having a wife, he 
sent home for a widowed cousin, who came out to him 
and had always been his housekeeper and mainstay. 
When I was there she was very ill, not expected to 
live, which threw a gloom over the fascinating place. 
She must have been a wonderful woman, for the house 
w'as full of her work — such embroidery as I never 
dreamed of, pictures by the dozen so finely done that 
I was persuaded they were oil paintings, and such a 
collection of bric-a-brac! 

But what pleased me most were the flowers — thou- 
sands of such roses as we see in the rose catalogues, 
American Beauties, as large as a dinner plate, and 
Marechal Niels so perfect that I just stopped and stood 
lost in admiration. I don't exaggerate when I say that 
one could have filled a freight car with the most perfect 
flowers I had ever seen without making perceptible 
impression on the mass. When I went back to the 
ship I had two large baskets of the beautiful things, 
and one of lemons which I had helped to pull, and both 
hands full of choice buds; the cabin was beautiful as a 
result. When Mr. Evans first started in business he 

252 



In the Straits 

had had built in Baltimore a very able boat, which was 
brought out on the deck of a vessel, and with her his 
fortune was begun. She was now hauled up in his 
yard, painted and gilded and surrounded with flowers, 
and as they would not allow him to fly the American 
flag here, he had it painted on her mast, wrapped round 
and round from one end to the other. He had known 
every naval officer in these waters for forty years, and 
many of his stories were most interesting. 

During my stay at Montevideo I had many cables 
from the Department regarding the new Chilean 
cruiser Errazuriz, which for some reason was causing 
them much anxiety. I found that she was undergoing 
repairs at Buenos Ayres, and promptly sent an oflEicer 
in plain clothes to have a look at her. He succeeded 
in getting on board, and remained more than an hour 
before he was suspected and invited to leave. During 
that time he had found out all I wanted to know, and 
after he had made his report I wired the Secretary her 
condition, and that he need not worry about her, as 
I could do her up with the Yorktown in thirty min- 
utes if it became necessary. The news from Valpa- 
raiso at this time was alarming. The tension between 
the two Governments was great, and war might come 
at any moment. 

The instant our new sails were on board I again 
put to sea. I find in my journal the following: 

" Friday Night, November 20th. — We are at anchor 
inside Cape Virgin in the Straits of Magellan, the most 
desolate spot God ever made; but glad to be here, for 
it is a frightful night at sea — blowing a howler from 
northwest, and so bitterly cold! . . . 

253 



A Sailor's Log 

" The clay before we left Montevideo the Philco- 
mayo, a Chilean gunboat, came into port and an- 
chored near us for the purpose, no doubt, of advising 
the Errazuriz at Buenos Ayres of our movements, and 
the latter may make an effort to beat us to Valparaiso; 
but she will have to * dust ' if she does it, for we 
have averaged twelve knots since leaving the river, 
and won't let any grass grow on our ship's bottom 
until I report to the admiral. I wish we could have 
a scrap with the Errazuriz, for I feel confident that 
we could take her into camp in forty-five minutes by 
the watch, notwithstanding all her new French rapid- 
fire guns; but no such chance will offer, I fear. 

" Within a mile of us, on the point of Cape Virgin, 
lies a magnificent great iron ship smashed to pieces 
and turned upon her beam ends. It was a painful sight 
as we came by; some poor fellow, no doubt, running 
in a gale and thick weather, and two hundred yards 
more could have taken him clear." 

At early daylight I was again under way, standing 
for Sandy Point, where I anchored at 4 p. m., thor- 
oughly worn out and nearly frozen to death by a gale 
from such awful snow-clad mountains that I was nearly 
congealed, and unfit for work. I could see the great 
glaciers forty miles away glinting in the sun. Our 
recent run through the tropics had unfitted us for 
this sort of weather, and our sufTering was very consid- 
erable. I remained at Sandy Point only from sundown 
one day until 3 a. m. of the next, when it was light 
enough to see, when T again drove ahead at thirteen 
knots speed, fearing that the Errazuriz might be try- 
ing to get ahead of me. 

254 



In Smythe's Channel 

The scenery was grand beyond anything I have 
ever seen, but it was so fearfully cold and blowing 
such a howling gale that I could not enjoy it as I 
would if I had not been compelled to face it all the 
time. That first night we found an anchorage in a 
snug little hole in Smythe's Channel, and had a com- 
fortable night surrounded by such mountains of snow 
and ice as Switzerland never dreamed of. Directly east 
of us was a magnificent mountain, as large as all 
Switzerland, and a pure clear white to the very top, 
where the outline was as sharp as broken glass; and 
in the very front, facing us, a glacier thirty miles long. 
As the sun set, the light on the blue crystal ice was 
a sight to be remembered, and the silence most de- 
licious — one could have cut it with a knife, it was so 
dense. In the early morning, 2 a. m., daylight, we 
were under way and again driving north through 
Smythe's Channel, which was much more beautiful 
than the Magellan Strait. There was hardly a mo- 
ment when we were out of sight of a glacier as we 
twisted and turned through this tortuous channel, but 
always the same biting, bitter cold. 

Our second and last night in this inland sea we 
found a most beautiful spot for the night about sixty 
miles south of the English Narrows, which are the ter- 
ror of all navigators. When our anchor was down we 
could just swing clear of the rocks, which rose sixteen 
hundred to three thousand feet straight up and down 
all around us, with a magnificent waterfall almost on 
our stern. It was as if we had been dropped into a 
well — only our surroundings were perfect. At each of 
our stopping places the men landed and put up our 

255 



A Sailor's Log 

head-board bearing the name of the ship, date, etc. 
This is a custom which has always prevailed, and some 
of the anchorages in the Straits of Magellan looked 
like graveyards. We found the Trenton's mark at 
one place. I wish I could have had some photographs 
of the scenery, for no one can ever comprehend the 
utter wildness and magnificence of it from mere de- 
scription. 

From this last anchorage we got under way at 
2 A. M., and before seven were approaching the Nar- 
rows. As we came up it seemed impossible that a ship 
could get through; indeed, there seemed no opening, 
the turns were so short. But she went through, run- 
ning thirteen and a half knots, and it was a beautiful 
sight to see her do it — at least the oflficers told me it 
was; I did not see much of it myself, for I had taken 
charge, and my blood was rushing so that I was warm 
for a few minutes anyhow. I remembered afterward 
that every face — all the men were on deck — was turned 
to me. We were in the Narrows scarcely six minutes, 
and yet in that short time we had made nearly two 
complete turns. After we had passed the Narrows 
it was all plain sailing, and by four in the afternoon 
we were out into the Gulf of Penas and the nasty 
Pacific was about us. And such a gale, and the most 
terrific sea I have ever met! It was running from 
the southwest and the gale blowing from the north- 
west, which was our course up the coast, and the little 
Yorktown was like an eggshell in the whirl of waters. 
We had to run slowly all night, but in the morning I 
gradually increased her speed and for two days did 
very well, notwithstanding the gale continued; but 

256 



At Valparaiso 

then the chief engineer reported that by some mis- 
count we were forty tons of coal short, and I was 
counting on that forty tons to bring us to Valparaiso. 
I put her under half power at once, and on Satur- 
day night at midnight ran in and anchored at Lota, 
two hundred and sixty-five miles south of Valparaiso. 
Early Sunday we took in seventy-five tons of coal, and 
Monday we anchored at Valparaiso at 5 p. m., fifty- 
one days from New York. Every one said we had 
made a wonderful passage, but I did not think so. If 
we had not lost our sails on the coast of Brazil and 
thus met with delay at Montevideo, and if we had had 
the coal I had counted upon, we should have made a 
good passage, but as it was I was not any too well 
pleased. 



257 



CHAPTER XXI 

CHILEAN HOSTILITY 

We found the Baltimore looking warlike and ready 
for business. The harbour was full of war vessels, 
and we anchored nearly two miles from the landing; 
but at that season it made no difference. All the 
inshore port was filled with the Chilean navy, and a 
sorry-looking lot they were. The story of the killing 
of the two men of the Baltimore and the wounding 
of eighteen others showed it to have been about the 
most cowardly and brutal thing I ever heard of. The 
men, to the number of say one hundred, went on shore 
on liberty at 2 p. m., and at six or half past a mob of 
two thousand, assisted by the police to the number 
of fifty, armed with carbines and bayonets, attacked 
three of our men in a street car, pulled them out and 
stabbed them in the back; one of them, Reagan, while 
being supported in the arms of a shipmate, was shot 
and instantly killed by a policeman. I don't think 
the shot was meant for him, however, but for the man 
who was holding him. Reagan was already, to all 
appearances, stabbed to death, and they meant to kill 
the other man; but the ball passed through his shirt 
and neckerchief and through Reagan's neck, killing 
him instantly. Whenever half a dozen of our men 

258 



Trouble: in Chile 

got together they would fight their way through the 
cowardly mob, but as they were completely unarmed, 
of course they had no show, and so were gradually 
cut down, one after another, and dragged ofT, in some 
cases by horses, to the prisons. Of all the wounded 
men of the Baltimore not one was cut or marked in 
front of his body; all wounds were in the back, which 
tells its own tale. 

When I had called on Captain Schley, command- 
ing the Baltimore, and reported for duty, I paid my 
visits of ceremony to the authorities on shore and the 
senior Chilean naval officers afloat. They were all 
scrupulously polite to me, but everywhere there was 
intense hatred for the Baltimore and her crew. At this 
time I think the feeling was confined to them, and did 
not extend to us as a nation; but later on it changed 
and involved everything North American. Captain 
Schley informed me that he was going north in a few 
days, probably as soon as the Boston arrived, which 
I regretted, as I thought he should remain until the 
trouble about his men had been settled. He was in 
the midst of a correspondence with the intendente, 
conducted in the most perfect Casiilian, to show, or 
prove, that his men were all perfectly sober when they 
were assaulted on shore. I did not agree with him in 
this, for in the first place I doubted the fact, and in 
the second it was not an issue worth discussing. His 
men were probably drunk on shore, properly drunk; 
they went ashore, many of them, for the purpose of 
getting drunk, which they did on Chilean rum paid 
for with good United States money. When in this 
condition they were more entitled to protection than 

259 



A Sailor's Log 

if tliey had been sober. This was my view of it, at 
least, and the one I always held about men whom I 
commanded. Instead of protecting them, the Chileans 
foully murdered these men, and we believed with the 
connivance and assistance of armed policemen. That 
was the issue — not the question of whether they were 
drunk or sober. I find the following notes from my 
journal, made at that time, of interest: 

" Valparaiso, December 4, iSpi. — My time has been 
about all taken up with official calls without end. . . . 
I found here, when we came, three German ships, with 
an admiral, three Frenchmen, and the whole Chilean 
navy; and in addition to calls on each of them, I had 
to call on our consul, and the intendente of Valpa- 
raiso, and the senior naval officer on shore. All hands 
have been exceedingly polite to me. They all hate the 
crew of the Baltimore as a whole, but against us, as 
a nation, I don't think they have any feeling. It is 
not my business to make trouble here, and I don't in- 
tend to give olTence to any one until I have orders 
from home, and then I shall do it with my guns and 
not with my tongue. I am giving all the time I can 
to get at the bottom facts about the trouble on hand. 
As far as I can now see, the mob that set upon the 
Baltimore's men and brutally murdered them was 
made up of the worst element of the city, and included 
discharged sailors from the Chilean fleet and probably 
soldiers; but it is plain that some of the Chilean 
sailors helped our unfortunate men in every way they 
could, and it is known that one officer, a lieutenant of 
artillery, cut down and generally knocked out seven 
or eight leaders of a crowd who were trying to get 

260 



Calls of Courtesy 

at some of our men in a restaurant. In fact, he drew 
his sword and defended the door until our men had 
escaped. 

" My position is that even if our men were all 
drunk that does not justify the poHce in shooting their 
heads off. If such be the law, we must either make 
them change it or stay away from a country where 
drunkenness is so severely punished. The Govern- 
ment of the United States must have ample apology 
for this affair, and the families of the men hurt must 
be paid, or we had better pull out every American from 
Chilean soil, for their lives won't be worth having. 
Strongly as I feel on the subject, I can not see any 
good reason why I should not be perfectly civil and 
polite to them, even if I have to shoot them to- 
morrow. 

" As soon as my anchor was down the senior officers 
sent at once and made proper calls, and I, of course, 
returned them; and then, being the last comer, I 
called on them all in succession — first the Cochran, 
then the Esmeralda, then the Huascar, then the 
Lynch, and then the Condell. On each I was most 
pleasantly greeted, and the officers were cordial; the 
men, on the contrary, scowled at me, and looked as 
if they would be glad of a chance to cut my throat. 

" Saturday, December ^th. — To-day we have papers 
up to October 31st. . . . It is curious to sit in this 
quiet place and read in the home papers of the ex- 
citement over Chilean affairs. . . . One paper has it 
that the Newark and Philadelphia are to come with 
the Atlanta, and that Gherardi will command; while 
another, of the same date, says that he goes at once 

261 



A Sailor's Log 

to the West Indies for the winter. There is a tele- 
gram pubHshed here this afternoon that Walker is 
ordered to Brazil with the Chicago, Atlanta, and Ben- 
nington; and so it goes. One thing, however, I am 
certain of, and that is that the Yorktown is here with- 
out any question, and ready for any sort of business. 

" December 6th. — ... At a dinner the other day we 
had much talk about the recent war in this country, and 
afterward went out to look at some of the places where 
the fighting was done. The idea prevails in the 
United States that the Chileans, and particularly their 
navy, fought with great bravery; but I find on investi- 
gation that such is not the case, at least not accord- 
ing to our standard. Balmaceda's men all seem to 
have been a miserable lot of traitors, and when the 
time came to fight they all either ran away or went 
over to the enemy. To-day I have been on board the 
Cochran to a dance. The captain invited us. The 
people were very cordial to us, and we stayed about 
twenty minutes and then went on shore for a walk. 

" Monday Night, December yth. — We are all anxious 
to-night to know what Congress has done, and what 
President Harrison has advised about Chile. I do 
hope it has been so strong and plain that there may 
be no mistake about it. The feeling on shore is very 
uneasy, and I could see to-day when w^alking through 
the main street with Schley many anxious faces. The 
mob is all for war with the United States, or any one 
else as far as that goes; but the sensible men know it 
would be suicide and nothing else. The Baltimore and 
Yorktown would give their navy a drubbing in two 
hours, and when the Boston comes we could shell the 

262 



Impending Revolution 

town into ruins and never be hurt. Everything to-day 
looks bad for Chile. The discontent of the army over 
the preference shown the navy has gone so far that 
there is great alarm and fear of another revolution, 
and all the soldiers have been taken out of the forts 
around the harbour and men from the fleet put in. 
News from Santiago is also alarming. Fifteen hun- 
dred rifles and two thousand revolvers were yesterday 
stolen from the Government arsenal at that point, and 
are now supposed to be in the hands of the Balmace- 
dists. Several of the Chilean naval officers have inti- 
mated to me very plainly that they would not stand 
any nonsense, and I don't hesitate to say that I would 
not be surprised to see another revolution in a month. 
Recently some officers of the army, who had been 
promised promotion, received commissions which did 
not suit them, so they tore them up, put the pieces 
in a bag, and sent it to the Secretary of War. How 
is that for military discipline? 

" Tuesday Night. — No news yet of the President's 
message nor what Congress thinks of affairs in Chile. 
The Baltimore received orders to-day to proceed to 
Mare Island, and in a few days I shall be here alone 
to face the music until Wiltse comes in the Boston. 

" December nth. — The Baltimore sailed away for 
Mare Island at 9 a. m. to-day, cheered by all the 
foreign ships except the Chileans. First we gave 
them three times three, then the French cheered 
them, and the Germans followed suit; both nations 
had up the signal, ' Wish you pleasant trip,' to which 
Schley answered, ' Thank you.' The senior Chilean 
ship, the Cochran, hoisted a signal, but we could not 
i8 263 



A Sailor's Log 

make out the flags, and the Baltimore did not answer, 
so I suppose they could not read it. The signal was 
kept flying until the Baltimore was out of sight, when 
they hauled it down. I suppose we will now be told 
that Captain Schley did this as an insult to the Chilean 
flag. For all official purposes I shall assume that the 
signal was not read, and could not have been, because 
the officer of the Cochran waited too long before 
hoisting it. . . . 

" I have followed strictly the regulations and cus- 
toms for intercourse with foreign ships of nations with 
whom we are at peace, and the result is that the 
Chilean officers have been most careful in observing 
toward me the greatest courtesy; they were smart 
enough to see that while I had no ' chip on my shoul- 
der,' yet I would yank up the first man who ventured 
to neglect the least point of etiquette. People on 
shore are very generally saying that the presence of 
the Yorktown has done much to produce a proper 
and friendly feeling, and at the same time some of 
the long heads are saying: ' Commander Evans is 
smart; he is learning all about the Chilean ships.' 
which is a fact; and none of them know just how much 
I have found, nor will they ever, unless we have war 
with them, when they will find my shells searching out 
their most vital points. I am quite prepared to have 
some people say that I am leaning too far toward a 
friendly solution of the trouble between the two coun- 
tries. They little know how hard I have to hold 
myself. One of the Chileans came on board to-day 
and sat in my cabin fully an hour, giving me an ac- 
count of his exploits during the war. He was most 

264 



Chilean Insolence 

entertaining with his bad French, and I got from him 
some very valuable professional information, and he 
went away much impressed with the friendly way in 
which I had received him. All I did was to give him 
a glass of champagne and let him talk. We have news 
that the Boston left Montevideo to-day, and Walker 
and his ships sailed from Hampton Roads yesterday 
for Brazil, 

" Saturday Night. — The President's message, at 
least the portion of it about Chile, is published here 
to-day, having been wired through, and Mr. Matta, 
the Chilean Secretary of State, has sent a most insult- 
ing message to their minister in Washington to be 
delivered to the State Department. He says, in so 
many words, that Egan and Srhley have lied all the 
way through, and that President Harrison has know- 
ingly used false information in his message to Con- 
gress. And all this is given to the press here before it 
reaches Washington. I don't see how Mr. Harrison 
can help sending a fleet down here to teach these 
people manners. Among other things Mr. Matta says, 
in relation to the Baltimore matter, that Chile is pre- 
pared to administer justice without the advice or in- 
terference of the United States. No doubt there will 
be great excitement when this is all published, which 
it probably is in the New York papers to-day, as it was 
all wired through this morning. I certainly would like 
to hear what Mr. Blaine has to say in reply. 

" Sunday, December iph. — I have been on board 
the Chilean flagship to-day to attend a dance, and was 
struck with the cordial way in which all their officers 
came forward to greet me and my officers. Many 

265 



A Sailor's Log 

ladies asked for introductions, and I was assured that 
the Yorktown was becoming most popular on shore, 
and that people thought very highly of me. I took it 
all in very quietly until I was introduced to a young 
woman who proclaimed that she was a Yankee. She 
proceeded to tell me what a splendid man I was, and 
so different from Captain Schley; she hated him and 
all the officers of the Baltimore. Her cheek and inso- 
lence were so massive that she staggered me for a 
moment, but only for a moment. Then I said to her, 
very slowly: * We are all the same in our service; the 
officers of the Yorktown and the Baltimore are as 
much alike as eggs in a basket, and you must not say 
disagreeable things about any of us.' She replied that 
she was ashamed to be known as an American, to 
which I answered that I did not think she would ever 
be recognised as one, and immediately returned her to 
the captain of the ship, who had introduced her to me 
at her request, and then I left her. It is easy to im- 
agine how angry she made me. . . . The feeling to- 
day is very unsettled, owing to Matta's foolish and 
insolent letter published yesterday, and no one can 
tell what the result may be. 

" Monday, December 14th. — The press of Valparaiso 
has to-day begun publishing the correspondence about 
the Baltimore row, and editorially they demand satis- 
faction. They say we owe them a large sum for stop- 
ping the Itata and thus prolonging their war; that our 
ships and men acted as spies for Balmaceda; that our 
sailors landed and raised a riot in their streets, that 
the United States must apologize and pay a heavy 
sum as indemnity, and that Egan must be at once 

266 



A Dilemma 

recalled. They also published to-day a story wired 
from Montevideo that the Boston's men landed there, 
fought and killed some of the police, and in fact held 
the town. I don't of course, know how much truth 
there may be in all this, but these people are using it 
for all it is worth. The trouble seems further from a 
settlement to-day than at any previous time. 

*' Wednesday, December i6th. — There is no change 
in the situation on shore — still very bitter and 
haughty. We are coaling ship, to be ready for any- 
thing that may come. Later. — I am somewhat worried 
to-night as to what I shall do in a matter, small in 
itself, but possibly annoying in its results. There is 
a correspondent of a New York paper here for whom 
I do not much care. Last Thursday he went to San- 
tiago de Chile to interview President Montt, and when 
he returned came to me with the story that Montt 
wanted to see me, and asked that I would come to 
Santiago for the purpose. Of course, I do not believe 
this, nor that Montt ever sent any such message, but 
I am not certain of it. Such an invitation ought to 
come through the United States minister. This was 
before the publication of Matta's insolent letter to the 
Secretary of State, which, with other things that have 
occurred, has determined me not to have any inter- 
course of an official character with any of them unless 
I am ordered or forced to do so. 

" Well, to-day Mr. Egan telephoned down from San- 
tiago to say that he wanted to * chat ' with me over the 
telephone, and as I was not on shore he asked the naval 
attache to come aboard and ask me if I did not think 
that I ought, in view of the turn things had taken, to 

267 



A Sailor's Log 

telegraph Schley at Callao to come back here with the 
Baltimore, and would I come to Santiago to consult 
with him (Egan). My answer was that Secretary Tracy 
was at one end of the wire and Schley at the other, 
and I had no doubt the Secretary would send the Bal- 
timore back here if he considered her presence neces- 
sary; also that I saw no good reason why I should 
leave my ship to consult with him about matters over 
which 1 had no control and could take no action. I 
am quite determined to attend to my own business 
and not get mixed up with the political part of this 
muddle. If I should go to Santiago, and if Montt did 
send me that message, he would be offended if I de- 
clined to call on him except in company with our 
minister — which I undoubtedly should do — so the best 
thing is to stay where I am. But it worries me, and 
I may have to give in and go. 

" The papers here grow more and more insolent, 
and I don't see how Mr. Harrison can avoid send- 
ing an ultimatum at a very early day. In the mean- 
time the Chileans are working like beavers to get their 
ships ready, and in two weeks from now the whole 
fleet will be ready for service. My relations with them 
all are in accordance with the strictest etiquette, and 
will remain so until the shooting begins — and even 
after. 

" Thursday, December lyth. — I had to go on shore 
to-day, nolens volens, as Mr. Egan must talk with me 
through sthe 'phone. He did about all the talking, 
and I listened. Yesterday he discovered that they had 
fifteen men — ten .soldiers, disguised as policemen, and 
five spies — around his house; and he also thinks he has 

268 



A Plot Suspected 

discovered a plot to burn his house, by setting fire 
to the house next to his, and thus get possession of 
the refugees now under his protection. Five persons 
were arrested as they left the Spanish legation in the 
evening, and one of them, ex-President of Ecuador, was 
detained several hours in the common jail. Egan is 
much excited, evidently expects trouble, and, I think, 
rather hopes to see it, but I can't join him in that. 

" The afternoon papers publish a telegram from 
San Francisco, saying that the San Francisco has 
sailed with sealed orders, probably for Chile. I shall 
be glad when the admiral arrives, as I am not in the 
least pleased with the present outlook here. 

" After I had done talking with Mr. Egan I went 
for a walk, and was scowled at by no end of cutthroat- 
looking chaps." 

On Friday, December i8th, came a long cipher 
cable from the Department, which required four hours 
for its translation. The contents were not of the most 
peaceful nature. My reply gave the information 
wanted in something like two hundred words. It took 
me all night to put it into cipher. 



269 



CHAPTER XXII 

STRAINED RELATIONS 

On the following morning the Valparaiso papers 
said the trouble between the two countries was about 
settled; that there would be no war, and that we had 
found out that Chile was in the right all the time. If 
the editors had seen the message I had received and 
my reply I think they would have changed their minds 
somewhat. Press reports from the United States 
published the same morning indicated great activity 
in the Navy Department. One of the papers had, in 
large headlines, " What we may expect when the Bos- 
ton arrives." The article then went on to state that 
she had landed ninety-five men on liberty in Monte- 
video, and ninety of them were arrested. I felt sure 
that the Boston's men were not in any such condition 
as this indicated, and I was confident at the same time 
that the article and many more like it were meant to 
influence public opinion against us and prepare them 
for more riots and bloodshed. 

Monday, December 21st, brought me a telegram 
to keep my ship filled up with coal, which led me to 
wonder if they regarded me at the Department as some 
kind of an idiot. Of course I was full of coal and every- 
thing else I should need when the time for action came. 

270 



A Curious Christmas 

All my plans were made down to the smallest detail, 
and my mind made up as to what I would do under cer- 
tain conditions. The head of the house of Grace & 
Company must have had some serious telegram from 
New York on this day, as he said to me in the after- 
noon that things looked bad for a settlement. Mr. 
Egan 'phoned me in the evening that his son had been 
arrested at Santiago the previous day as he came out 
of the legation, and later two other persons had been 
arrested in the same way and held for two hours or 
more. The situation was becoming very critical, and 
the conduct of the authorities seemed like madness to 
me — almost as if they intended to force us into war. 
I was quite ready for it if they said the word. 

I was determined to meet the Chileans halfway in 
any proposition they had to make, and therefore, when 
I received an invitation for a Christmas tree, I accepted 
it and presented myself at the proper hour. It was 
pleasant to see some fifty-odd children enjoy them- 
selves, but the grown people were as nasty a lot as I 
ever met. I was introduced to them all and tried to 
talk to them, but one after another had something dis- 
agreeable to say about the United States. One and 
all of them hated the officers of our navy who had been 
there before us, and they did not hesitate to tell me 
so. My visit was cut very short, and I returned to my 
ship feeling as no Christian ought to feel on Christ- 
mas eve. 

Our surroundings naturally drew all of us closer 
together, and I gladly accepted the invitation of the 
wardroom officers to take my Christmas dinner with 
them. They had also, as their guests, the consul and 

271 



'A Sailor's Log 

several of our countrymen from shore. We had a 
charming dinner over " sweethearts and wives," and 
forgot for the moment the troubles threatening us. 
The following from my journal gives an accurate ac- 
count of incidents at this time: 

" Events crowd on rapidly now, and our troubles 
here must soon be settled one w-ay or another. The 
Boston came in yesterday, and I was glad to see her, 
but to-day she is ordered north, leaving me alone 
again to face the music here. It is a great surprise to 
every one. Wiltse signalled me this afternoon at five 
to repair on board, which I at once did, and found him 
up to his eyes in a cipher telegram which was too 
much for him. We soon unravelled it, however, and it 
was, * Proceed north immediately with the Boston,' 
etc. He will be ofif to-morrow, and the Yorktown 
will again hold the fort, which shows a gratifying con- 
fidence in me on the part of the Secretary. I feel the 
weight of responsibility which rests on my shoulders. 
The Boston will be off to-morrow, and in the mean- 
time I have information that a riot is threatened here, 
and that two regiments of artillery came here to-day 
from Santiago. Of course, they would not have sent 
them unless they feared another row, and if it comes my 
duty will be a hard one. There will be only two ships 
here, one French and one American — except, of course, 
the vessels of the Chilean fleet, which can not be 
counted on at such a time. If trouble comes, the Eng- 
lish and Germans here will call on us for protection, 
and I shall have them on my hands as well as our own 
people. So I am not yachting in the real sense of the 
word. 

272 



Sensational Journalism 

" Saturday Night, December 26'th. — The Boston has 
gone, and we are once more the only Yankee here. 
Wiltse called on most of the officials, and the news- 
papers give him a good send off. One paper says 
that his politeness, following so soon on the courteous 
conduct of ' Sefior ' Evans, commanding the York- 
town, had gone far toward removing the bad impres- 
sion made by the Baltimore. Another paper copies 
a long article from the London Times, showing how 
easily the Chilean navy could clean us up, capture 
San Francisco, and do no end of awful things. Still 
another says that the Chicago, Concord, and Wil- 
mington will soon be here, and when they have gone 
north the people of Valparaiso will have had two 
thirds of the Yankee navy passed in review. Such 
insolence! 

" Mr. Egan 'phoned me to-day that he had not 
attended the inauguration of President Montt. I sup- 
pose the press will make all sorts of a row over that. 
I am sure that if he had gone he would have been 
insulted, and it is likely that some attempt on his 
legation would have been made in his absence. His 
position and that of the United States is much 
strengthened by an incident which occurred day be- 
fore yesterday, the arrest of General Velasquez. He 
was Secretary of War under Balmaceda, and about 
two months before the collapse of that government 
was thrown from his horse and had his leg broken. He 
had been arrested by the Junta government and bailed 
for ten thousand dollars, but day before yesterday was 
again arrested, on the ground that he was organizing a 
revolution, because arms were found in his house. A 

273 



A Sailor's Log 

mob gathered and demanded his blood, but enough of a 
guard was on hand to drag him away and place him 
in confinement on board the Magallanes, one of their 
receiving ships. I am told to-day that he was shot to 
death on board that vessel at midnight last night, and 
the authorities do not deny it, but say that if he has 
not been killed he will be, and that his friends will 
never know how or when. Now this is a fine prospect 
for the gentlemen who are refugeed in the legation at 
Santiago! If they are given up, every one will un- 
doubtedly be killed, and the nations of the earth will 
justly hold us responsible. While I do not believe in 
the right of asylum, and would not permit our lega- 
tions to be used for that purpose, still, having once 
received these men, we must stand by them even if it 
leads to war. Just at this point I was called on deck 
by some quick volleys fired on shore near us, followed 
by a few straggling shots. One of these fine nights 
they will send some of their bullets over us, and then 
they will have a surprise party. 

" Sunday Night. — I found out this afternoon in a 
curious way about the firing last night. It was con- 
tinued at intervals all night. This morning early the 
Esmeralda came in with colours at half mast, having 
on board the fragments of patriots killed at Iquiqui and 
Caldera Bay. She was draped in black, and looked 
as if she had not been scrubbed for a year — quite the 
most grief-stricken craft I ever saw. Just at four 
o'clock a boat came to us from the senior officer afloat 
to ask us to participate in the ceremonies afloat to- 
morrow, when they are going to bury the remains of 
some naval patriots. So little could be made out of 

274 



A Doubtful Story 

what the young officer was trying to tell us that I 
took my boat and went on board the Cochran to get 
things straight. Captain Vial, who commands her 
. . . when I assured him that we should be glad to 
jom m honouring their dead, did not know where to 
put me. He told me he was much gratified by my 
acceptance, but had feared that I would decline be- 
cause these officers had been killed during the war 
In other words, we were on the Balmaceda side, and 
would not even go to the funeral of the other party 
1 was not to be caught by such stupid trash. I told 
him that m my country we knew no difference amon^ 
Chileans, alive or dead; that we never in any case ear- 
ned our feelings beyond the moment of dissolution 
etc When I asked him what the firing was about last 
night, he said the men in the naval battery on shore 
thought some smuggling was going on and fired, and 
some soldiers in adjoining works, to give the idea that 
they were ready, took it up, and hence the row. 
While he was telling me this plausible yarn I was ob- 
serving his decks and wondering if the smugglino- 
racket would account for all the ammunition I saw 
piled ready for use. The truth is, they expected an 
attack, and no doubt shot some of the suspects just 
to keep their hands in. I shall go to their wake to- 
morrow, as I told Captain Vial, on the water- but 
as I also told him, I will not allow one of my men to 
land. 

" No news from Santiago to-day, except that Montt 
was inaugurated and that the Chambers could not 
agree on a Cabinet, which is unfortunate, as the present 
lot will have to hold over, and they will continue to 

275 



A Sailors Log 

menace our legation and thus make matters worse. 
As to Egan, he has done only what he was instructed 
to do from Washington, and he has done it capitally 
well. The Chilean Secretary of State has found him- 
self outclassed every time he has tackled the little Irish- 
man, who really writes clearly, forcibly, and beautifully, 
and so far they have not scored one point against him. 
" The whole diplomatic question in dispute is a 
simple one: i. 'The right of asylum in foreign lega- 
tions,' 2. ' Salvo conducto, for such refugees, to a 
neutral territory.' In 1866, during a revolution in 
Peru, the Chilean Government directed its minister 
in that country to insist on both principles, and they 
were enforced, and salvo conducto furnished to neu- 
tral territory. In 1888, at a Congress of the South 
American Republics, the Chilean representative pre- 
sented and had embodied in a treaty, which was after- 
ward ratified by all, a clause that refugees should be 
protected when sheltered in foreign legations, and 
charged only with political ofifences; and that salvo 
conducto should be demanded and furnished all such 
refugees, reserving to the Government in whose ter- 
ritory the legation is located the right to demand 
the speedy removal of the parties from its territory. 
Thus this practice became international law as far as 
the parties to the treaty are concerned, but the Junta 
government, through Mr. Matta, now says the Gov- 
ernment of Chile has changed. Mr. Egan replies that 
local changes and edicts of Chile can not change 
international law and practice. The Chileans are 
knocked out and refuse to continue the discussion. 
Having admitted his right to give them asylum, their 

276 



War Talk 

present attitude is absurd, and only makes a perma- 
nent prison of the legation; the men would undoubt- 
edly be killed the moment they were turned out. 

" Monday, p. m. — We helped to bury the patriots 
to-day, or rather we escorted them to the shore from 
the Esmeralda, and then returned to the ship. Of 
course, I would not go on shore for the funeral, but 
I did go later to call on the senior officer in command 
of the naval station, to get what news I could out of 
him, and was moderately successful. He let it out that 
they would send four of their vessels to Iquiqui, some 
time in January, at the suggestion of President Montt. 
Of course, their idea is to defend that place against 
us and rely on the rest of the fleet and the forts to 
hold Valparaiso. He had no idea of the value of the 
information he was giving me, or he would not have 
talked so freely. Afterward he said many things which 
lead me to believe that they expect an attack every 
night, and I should not be surprised to see it any hour. 

" When I left him I met the head of the house of 
Grace and Company, and he showed me a long telegram 
from W. R. Grace, dated in Washington yesterday, of 
the most alarming character. Grace has been in Wash- 
ington for the past ten days trying to convince Secretary 
Blaine that we must not have war. He wires that Har- 
rison is for war, that the Navy Department is making 
every preparation for war, and that Blaine, while in 
favour of war under certain conditions only, can not 
stem the tide, and that unless Chile makes ample apol- 
ogy at once nothing can prevent war. The message 
is to Grace's business house, and therefore can be relied 
on as giving his best information; and he is a warm 

277 



A Sailor's Log 

personal friend of Mr. Blaine. Taking all this Into 
consideration, the crew of the Yorktown will sleep at 
the loaded guns to-night, and every night until I get 
some better news. While I can not deny to myself 
that things are on the ' ragged edge,' so to speak, yet 
I can not conceive of the Chileans being stupid enough 
to allow it to come to blows — it seems incredible folly. 
And yet it may come. News from Santiago to-day is 
to the effect that President Montt is still unable to 
form a Cabinet. If this condition continues much 
longer, it alone will bring revolution. 

'* Tuesday, p. m. — After the alarming telegram T 
saw yesterday I went on shore again to-day and found 
that the English minister had long messages from his 
Government, which he had shown to Mr. Egan, and 
here again I was much surprised. The despatches say, 
in plain language, that the English Government con- 
siders that war between the United States and Chile 
is inevitable; and yet I have not one word from the 
Department to put me on my guard. I certainly do 
not understand it in the least. 

" Valparaiso, Chile, December ^oth. — The steamer 
has just gone out. Every one that goes I hope may 
be the last until we go. While I was ashore, walking 
up the street with Fred May, three rotas, the most 
villainous-looking scoundrels I ever saw, crossed over 
and followed us some distance, muttering about 
* damned Yankees.' I saw Fred get a fresh grip on 
his stick, and I did the same, and, keeping one eye over 
my shoulder, just as they were close behind us we sud- 
denly turned and walked through them, as it were, 
before they had time to do anything. We were in the 

278 



A New Year 

main street of the town, otherwise I have no doubt 
they would have attacked us, and if they had we surely 
would have pounded the hfe out of two of them at 
least. 

" There is a rumour to-day on the street that Chile 
has offered thirty thousand dollars as a settlement of 
the Baltimore affair, but I can not learn that it is true. 

''December ^ist, Night. — There is to be a row at mid- 
night and I have been asked to join in it, but declined. 
The Chileans are going to fire twenty-one guns and 
burn fireworks to usher in the new year, which seems an 
odd thing to do, but these are odd people. The war feel- 
ing is about the same to-day, and the papers publish a 
telegram in which Admiral Brown is made to say that 
there will be no war with Chile, and that he is not com- 
ing back with the San Francisco; and, further, that the 
affair of the Baltimore will be submitted to arbitration, 
which seems too silly to notice. When the United 
States is willing to submit the question of the murder 
of her sailors in uniform to arbitration, I must look for 
other employment — the navy won't any longer suit 
me. They can arbitrate ' till the cows come home ' 
about the people in the legation at Santiago, but if they 
ever hint at such a thing about the Baltimore's men, 
then I think the voice of the American people will be 
heard in no uncertain tones. 

" January i, i8p2. — ^Just before midnight last 
night we ordered champagne, and each one stood with 
his full glass until the bell struck, when we all drank 
to our friends at home a * happy New Year.' Then we 
went on deck, whence we could hear and see the 
Chileans making their row. The whole city of Val- 
19 279 



A Sailor's Log 

paraiso was red and green with lights, presenting one 
of the most beautiful sights imaginable. 

" The Chilean vessels added to the effect by flashing 
their electric lights in every direction, and everything 
that could make a noise was doing its best, but not a 
sound came from the Yorktown except the low mur- 
murs of the men as they stood around the guns. It 
was an impressive sight." 

As the Cochran fired the first gun of her salute she 
sent off a flight of rockets; one of them, a war rocket, 
just missed the Yorktown. We were in plain view on 
account of the beams of the numerous search lights 
from the Chilean war vessels, and it seemed that the 
rocket must have been purposely aimed at us; but there 
was room for doubt, and as it had not struck us I 
assumed that it was an accident. I at once hoisted 
a large American flag and turned both my search 
lights on it, so that if any one really wanted to hit 
me he could know just where I was. I was deter- 
mined, if trouble came, there should be no ground 
for saying we had been accidentally struck in the 
dark. When the search lights, a few moments later, 
again lighted us up, they showed the crew of the 
Yorktown standing at their quarters and the guns all 
ready for business. The second war rocket from the 
Cochran went through the rigging of a German 
steamer some distance away from us, but no more came 
our way. I again quote from my journal: 

" January i, 1892. — The telegrams in the morning 
papers from Washington are most warlike. Before I 
was through with my breakfast a long cipher message 
came from the Secretary, directing me to keep him 

280 



Chilean Justice 

posted on all movements of Chilean warships; and one 
from the President, to proceed to Santiago and confer 
with our minister, ascertain present situation, and espe- 
cially the sentiment of Chile toward the United States. 
It is extraordinary to send a naval officer to find out the 
sentiment of the country, and I have a job on my hands. 
The responsibility of the position almost frightens me. 
I could wire back a message to-morrow that would 
cause a declaration of war in twenty-four hours. I 
shall leave for Santiago in the morning and spend two 
days there, getting such information as I can, and look- 
ing at the actual condition of things, that I may give 
the President such an answer as will enable him to lay 
the matter before Congress. Of course, I shall be un- 
comfortable and much worried all the time I am away, 
but that is what I am paid for. 

" Later. — This afternoon the most important part of 
the finding in the Baltimore case is published. The 
judge finds that two Chileans are implicated; that the 
row w^as begun by the Baltimore's men, who were 
drunk, and that their testimony was of no value; that 
Reagan was killed by a revolver shot from some party 
unknown. He does not seem to see the absurdity of 
two Chileans having stabbed over a dozen men in a 
fight which went on at the same time in half a dozen 
different places covering a space of more than half a 
mile. I am curious to know what Mr. Blaine will say 
when he gets the news. 

" Monday, January 4th. — Glad to get to the little 
ship once more last night at midnight. I have been 
making out a cipher message of one hundred and 
seventy-eight words to the Secretary, and it consumed 

281 



A Sailor's Log 

the entire day, so that I have not been on shore; but 
the message lias gone, and by now the Secretary and 
probably the President knows just what I think of 
the situation at Santiago. My message gave the de- 
cision in the Baltimore case and some news of the 
Chilean navy, and then I said substantially that the 
United States legation at Santiago, containing many 
refugees, was virtually a prison watched by uniformed 
police and spies in plain clothes — the latter removed 
during my visit. General sentiment of Santiago and 
Valparaiso brutally hostile to the United States. New 
Chilean Secretary of State expresses friendship, and 
hopes matters will be promptly arranged. ... I was 
too anxious and full of business to enjoy the trip. . . . 

" Santiago is a large, straggling city in a great dust- 
covered plain surrounded by brown mountains topped 
with snow. The minister met me at the station, and 
we drove a mile or so through very rough streets to 
a very dirty hotel. I started with Mr. Egan and the 
three officers who were with me, to walk to the lega- 
tion, a distance of about ten blocks, and I was amused 
at the scowls the party received from the people on 
the way. When we came in sight of the legation I 
counted eight uniformed police and five of the worst- 
looking devils of rotas in plain clothes that I have ever 
gazed on, all guarding the place. I walked around, 
counted these brutes, and looked them over, and they 
were very uncomfortable under the scrutiny. In the 
afternoon the spies were withdrawn, leaving only the 
police in uniform. 

" After I had paid my respects to Mrs. Egan I was 
introduced to the party of refugees, and was really 

282 



The Sacking of Santiago 

impressed with the scene. Our minister, an Irish 
agitator representing a great Government, and under 
his protection many of the finest men of Chile, bhie- 
blooded and aristocratic, treating Mrs. Egan Hke a 
queen, and looking to the self-made, brave little Irish- 
man for their lives. The whole thing was impressive 
and curious. I managed to say a few words to each of 
them, but with General Gana, formerly Secretary of 
War, I had a long conversation; his French was awful, 
but perhaps he thought the same of mine. He is sev- 
enty years old, and was an intimate friend of Admiral 
Dahlgren, for whose memory he entertains a high re- 
gard. In fact, he considers all Americans superior 
people. He was for many years general of the army, 
and gave his whole life to the service of his country; 
and yet they would tear him to pieces were it not that 
the American flag protects him. 

" I also had some talk with Seiior McKenna, who 
was President of the Balmaceda Senate, a most thor- 
oughbred, delicate-looking gentleman. He is enor- 
mously wealthy. His position and surroundings are 
most irksome, and the confinement is telling on his 
health. It was pathetic when he told me that if his 
countrymen did not kill him he would make his home 
in North America, where he could rear his children with 
the advantages of civilization." 

The sacking of Santiago by the rebels after its sur- 
render probably has no parallel in history for wanton 
waste and destruction. The houses to be sacked were 
all placed on a list, which was given to a regiment of 
half-breeds from the mining districts, and they were 
ordered to do the job. I can certify from personal ob- 

283 



A Sailor's Log 

servation that they did their work very thoroughly. I 
stood in front of what had been the beautiful home of 
Mr. John McKenna, and wondered how human beings 
could be found to do such work. Every article of 
value had been stolen or destroyed, and the floors and 
woodwork, even to the window casings, torn up and 
broken to pieces or carried away. It was a fearful 
picture of what civil war might mean at its worst. I 
again quote from my journal: 

" On Sunday Mr. Egan gave me a breakfast at 
Santa Lucia, a rock which rises some hundreds of feet 
in the heart of the city, and on top of which is a fair 
restaurant, and whence the view is fine. The party 
was mixed, which for my purpose suited very well, 
and I got much valuable information from them, espe- 
cially from a Chilean army officer, who had been a 
junior officer in the British army. He resigned, to 
find employment about Iquiqui, where he was when 
the war came, when, believing the rebels to be right, 
he joined them, fought well, and after the fall of Bal- 
maceda was promoted and is now on duty at Santiago. 
I got a lot of information from him. When the Balti- 
more row took place he was sent down to Valparaiso 
to investigate the matter privately and report to the 
authorities in Santiago. He was soon satisfied that the 
police shot Reagan, but in order to decide the point 
fully he demanded such orders as would compel the 
authorities here to give him the witnesses he wanted. 
He went to Santiago and reported his conviction that 
the police had done the killing, for which the authori- 
ties jumped on him and ' gave him the devil,' and 
would not let him return here. Now he has given them 

2S4 



Startling Information 

notice that if they have any trouble with the United 
States i,e vvill leave their service. The day we left San- 

X of' ""IT '"^ "' °*' ^"'^ ''^ "^^d the same 
salute of scowls from the people. On my way to San- 
tiago I am sure I was guarded by two very nice-looking 
officers m uniform, who observed my every movement! 

se,ft w T, "'^ r™.' '"' ' ^"""^^ ^='=«'-'- P™bablv 
se.U by the authont.es to see that.no harm wa's 

" Janmry 5W,.-To-day I have been on shore for an 
hour and saw the consul's son, who has come out as 
Z72'u °'!:^''r- He left Washington on Decem- 
ber loth, and tells me that the war talk there was very 
strong-tfiat Harrison was wild over the Baltimore 
matter and ,t was all Blaine could do to hold him back 
I don t wonder. To-night I have been reading up the 
papers, and find the tone of our Administration very 
d.gn.fied, though savage. I don't see how war can now 
be avoided Sorry to see that Jack Philip was detached 
from the Atlanta if she is to come here; but he will 
have a beautiful command in the New York, and do the 
service credit anywhere. 

^ "January <5</,.-This afternoon I went for a few 
mmutes to a grand ball on board the Cochran, and 
when I came back found awaiting me a half-tipsy chap 
"ho had come to tell me, confidentially, that my ship 
was to be attacked to-night or to-morrow night by 
he Chileans, and he warned me to make every prepara- 
tion, as they were in earnest, and would begin the 
vvar with the United States by sinking or capturing 
the \ orktown. Nice information for a fellow to sleep 
on! The chap said he had been well treated by the 

285 



A Sailor's Log 

Americans and would stand by them. Of course, I 
don't place much confidence in the story, but I am 
on my guard all the same, and to-night we have steam 
up and the men sleeping at the guns among the am- 
munition. 

" The captain of the Cochran has just sent an 
ofificer on board to say that he will hre a salute of 
twenty-one guns at one o'clock in the morning, as that 
will be the anniversary of their revolt. Such idiots! 
I don't think I shall sleep much cstc nochc. 

'* January Stli. — The Chileans certainly did cele- 
brate night before last, to the annoyance of all quietly 
disposed persons. The harbour was ablaze and salutes 
were fired until midnight, and I was not certain that 
they would not take a shy at us, so I watched them 
closely, and am thankful that nothing unpleasant hap- 
pened. I am equally sorry that something very un- 
pleasant did happen to-day — nothing less than the ston- 
ing of my gig while she was lying off the landing-place, 
waiting to bring me off. When I landed I noticed that 
the people scowled at me rather more than usual, but it 
passed out of my mind until a party of young fellows 
on a street car made themselves offensive. 

" After I had attended to my business I came down 
and called my boat in, and while waiting for her to get 
alongside I became aware that there was a crowd of 
rather larger proportions than usual on the mole, and 
they seemed excited by something. Just as I stepped 
into my boat one of them advanced quickly toward nic, 
and the cockswain said. ' Look out for that fellow, sir! ' 
I said, * He won't trouble me.' stepped into the boat, 
and shoved off, and then discovered that the crew were 

2 86 



Reading the Riot Act 

all fighting mad. On inquiry I learned that a lot of 
toughs had amused themselves by throwing stones at 
the boat and daring the men to come on shore. I was 
hot all over, and without going to my own ship I pulled 
straight for the Cochran, whose captain, Vial, is senior 
officer in command of the city as well as the fleet. I 
could hardly hold myself down while I told him of it; 
but I did, and then read him the riot act. I demanded 
of him immediate and efficient protection by the police, 
and served notice on him, then and there, that a repe- 
tition of the offence would be sufficient evidence that 
they could not control their people, and that I should 
arm my boats and shoot any and every man who in- 
sulted me or my men or my flag in any way. Vial was 
greatly shocked, or pretended to be, turned as white 
as a sheet — my manner was not very mild, I fancy — 
swore and damned the discharged soldiers, and said 
they were doing all they could to involve the country 
in war with the United States, while he and the navy 
were determined that it should not be; and then, in 
his excitement, he gave away something I am sure he 
was very sorry for: he said, ' We have just discovered 
to-day a plot to attack the American legation at San- 
tiago, and we have the men under arrest.' What a 
set of savages we have to deal with! After a few mo- 
ments Captain Vial hastened on shore to jump the 
police, assuring me that I should have an ample apol- 
ogy to-morrow, and assurances of protection. Of 
course, I shall wire the affair to the Department after 
I have settled it, but in the mildest way I can. I don't 
want to be sensational, and I hope the papers won't 
get hold of it. 

287 



A Sailors Log 

" If they bother us again I shall consider that the 
time has come to shoot. The anxiety of the position 
here is very great; it interferes with my sleep, and is 
telling on my temper. 

" Valparaiso, January gth. — Lots of things have 
happened since last night. Just at midnight I heard a 
sharp hail, 'Boat ahoy!' and the answer, 'American 
consul.' I was out in a minute, and there the consul 
was, as large as life, and evidently with something im- 
portant on his mind. When we reached the cabin he 
said Mr. Egan had just telephoned to ask me to have 
my steam launch at a certain point about five miles 
from the ship at six sharp this morning, as he was 
coming unexpectedly to pay me a visit. Of course, 
I knew what that meant, and everything was made 
ready, and at about 2 a. m., after providing the consul 
with a shakedown, I went to bed. We were up at 
four, had some coffee and eggs, and the executive offi- 
cer shoved off in charge, with the consul to show him 
where to go, and half a dozen revolvers, with car- 
tridges, etc. 

" At 7.30 I saw the boat returning, and was much 
relieved when she came alongside. 

" The first man out was Mr. Egan; then came Mr. 
]\rcKenna, formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs, then 
President of the Chilean Senate, and lately a refugee 
in the American legation. After him came his cousin, 
William McKenna. late Governor of Santiago under 
Balmaceda; and then their wives and servants. My 
heart sank into my boots when I saw the women, but 
fortunately they went on shore afterward; and their 
husljands, who would be torn to pieces if they were 

288 



The Power of the Flag 

caught, are now sleeping as calmly as two children, 
within twelve feet of me. The American flag is a won- 
derful thing when all is said and done. Here are these 
two men with no claim on us beyond our sentiment 
of right and humanity, whose lives have not been worth 
a nickel for months, now resting quiet and secure in 
the midst of the Chilean fleet, and under the guns of 
ten heavy forts; and all because a small gunboat flying 
the American flag has them in charge. 

" Other important things have happened: Captain 
Vial has been on board to apologize for the stoning of 
the gig yesterday and to assure me of protection, and 
the English admiral has arrived in the Warspite. 

" January loth, ii p. m. — Just back from a confer- 
ence with the English admiral on board the Warspite, 
and more tired than last night, but must write a few 
lines, because if I do not set down things as they hap- 
pen I shall forget them. 

" Admiral Hotham, R. N., is disposed to be very 
nice. Mr. Egan, who went back to Santiago last night, 
wires me to-day that he has a long message from Mr. 
Blaine, directing him to ask the Chilean Government: 
(i) 'If they will give salvo condiicto to those who still 
remain in the legation at Santiago '; and (2) ' Do they 
want to withdraw the letter of Mr. Matta, Secretary of 
Foreign Afifairs, which was so insulting to our Govern- 
ment? ' This looks to me very much as if it were 
going to rain in a few days in Chile. 

" To comprehend the situation we must consider 
that Mr. Egan brought the men, now on board, with- 
out written salvo conducto, but with the tacit per- 
mission of the authorities. They refused to give a 

289 



A Sailor's Log 

written permit, thus hoping to dodge the question, but 
Mr. Blaine is naihng the matter, and will make them 
settle the salzv conducto question at once. Egan will 
not now allow any more refugees to leave the legation 
without written permits. This is the beginning of the 
end of the Chilean trouble. 

" Monday Afternoon, January lith. — Yesterday 
evening came more cablegrams, and to-day I have news 
from Egan that the Chilean Government pledges safe 
conduct to the refugees now in the legation out of the 
country, and to-morrow night they will be down on me 
to the number of six or eight — not only those in the 
legation, but others. There is no Spanish vessel of 
war in the harbour, and at the request of the Spanish 
and American ministers I have consented to take on 
board the refugees now in the Spanish legation. I 
wish they were all clear of the country and we with 
them. 

" This ship is constantly overrun with the wives, 
daughters, and cousins of the men now on board, and 
I suppose, when the others come, things will be much 
worse. A large party has just gone away, among them 
a beautiful daughter of Mr. McKenna, who said to me 
as she left, ' I love zis plaice ' — and much they may 
love it! 

" Mr. Egan also tells me that the police have been 
removed from around the legation, but the Chilean 
Government is not prepared to withdraw the offen- 
sive note of Mr. Matta. It is willing to say that no 
offence was meant, but will not withdraw the note. 
Egan replies that ours are a thinking people, and, 
given the language of the note, they can decide for 

290 



Salvo Conducto 

themselves as to its offensiveness. After it is with- 
drawn we will settle the Baltimore affair. All the 
refugees once out of danger, we shall then be in a posi- 
tion to say what we propose to do, and then go ahead 
and do it; but up to this time we have been heavily 
handicapped by our wards, who would undoubtedly 
have been killed at the first warlike demonstration. 

" Tuesday, January 12th. — Last evening I dined 
with Admiral Hotham on board the Warspite, and had 
a good dinner and friendly treatment. To-day I am 
notified by Mr. Egan that he will be down to-morrow 
with more refugees — all that are left in Santiago, it 
seems. They will be escorted by the Spanish and 
Italian ministers, who are all coming on board the 
Yorktown, and will probably spend the day with us. I 
have no idea what I shall do with so many people, but 
one thing I am sure of, and that is that I shall salute 
all these ministers; and when I have fired my forty-five 
guns the people of Valparaiso will know that the ques- 
tion of salw conducto is settled, for the present at 
least. Egan has come out of the whole business with 
flying colours, and were it not for w^hat might be said 
I would wear a green ribbon in my buttonhole to- 
morrow simply to show my respect for the sandy little 
Irishman. The consul is on board for the night, and 
will go with my boats to-morrow morning to show 
them just where to find Egan and his party, and after 
they come the cabin will be more crowded than it 
is nowr. 

" I shall do all in my power to send the refugees 
away in the first steamer that leaves here. 

" January lyth. — It is some days since I last wrote, 
291 



A Sailor's Log 

but the cabin is so crowded that I can only write late 
at night. Four days ago, early in the morning, I sent 
in two boats, met the train, and brought off the whole 
lot of refugees from the United States and Spanish 
legations, accompanied by the United States, the 
Spanish, and Italian ministers. I made them as com- 
fortable as I could, being assured not only that they 
came by permission of the Government, but that they 
would leave on Saturday (yesterday) in the steamer John 
Elder, of the P. S. N. Co., for Europe. Tickets were 
bought and everything made ready. In the meantime, 
when the ministers were about to leave the ship, the 
one from Italy asked that I would not fire him a salute, 
and I did not. The Spaniard, Count Brunetti, had 
requested me to take two refugees from his legation, 
which I did, and therefore (if for no other reason) 
saluted him when he left. On Friday Mr. Egan wired 
me that the Santiago authorities had changed base, 
and would not give safe conduct to the refugees, and 
that they would arrest them when the John Elder 
touched at a Chilean port — all because we had saluted 
the Spanish minister, and thus called attention to the 
fact that they had permitted the refugees to leave. 

" I promptly requested Mr. Egan to say to the 
Minister of Foreign Affairs that I w'as responsible to 
my own Government and not that of Chile for my con- 
duct, and that I considered his remarks about my salute 
to the Spanish minister offensive and would not sub- 
mit to them; also that I should cable the matter to my 
Government, which I did, and, as they have not said a 
word about it, I assume that they approve of my action. 

" Of course, the refugees could not go on the John 
292 



An Embarrassment of Refuofees 

o 

Elder, and we now have them quartered on board. The 
bother and discomfort are very great, but the expense 
is the more serious matter to me. The John Elder put 
to sea at 2 p. m., and at four this afternoon we had 
news of her total loss on the rocks at four this morning 
— all hands saved. What an escape the refugees had! 
If they had gone in her they would all have been shot 
by this time. 

" The English cruiser Melpomene has gone to the 
scene of the wreck. Of course, I have wired the Sec- 
retary very fully, and he and the President know the 
whole situation. I have wired for permission to land 
my passengers at Callao, twelve hundred miles away, 
but fear he will not permit it. A Chilean squadron will 
leave here to-morrow, bound south, and I have infor- 
mation thdt they will attempt to stop Walker in the 
Straits of Magellan. I have wired it to Washington." 

From the time I received the refugees on board I 
was in constant anticipation of trouble. The morning 
they came I had my ship cleared for action, and fully 
expected to have to use my guns before the affair was 
concluded. Threats had been openly made that if T 
took the refugees on board, the Chilean ships would 
take them out again. The excitement was very gen- 
eral, and feeling ran high. While Mr. Blaine had not 
insisted on written salzv conductos, he had exacted 
verbal ones; and the Chilean Government was not 
aware of what was going on, but anxious to get the 
parties out of the country. But Santiago could not 
control Valparaiso, and in the latter port, with its tur- 
bulent population, lay the danger. 

During the first few hours after their arrival I no- 
293 



A Sailor's Log 

ticed that none of the refugees would show themselves 
above the rail of the ship, notwithstanding I had chairs 
on the poop deck for them. Scnor Ibanos, formerly 
minister to the United States, was among the last lot 
that had arrived, and when I asked him what the 
trouble was he showed me a letter from a friend on 
shore warning him and his friends that if they raised 
their heads above the rail they would be shot, and that 
boats were lurking about my ship for the purpose of 
shooting them. Up to this time I had allowed the 
fishing boats to fish close alongside the Yorktown, but 
I now gave orders to keep them away and to double 
our sentries. The orders the sentries had 'vould have 
made it serious work for any boatman to show anything 
that looked like a gun anywhere near us. 

I had my boat manned, and with the letter spoken 
of, and eeveral others of the same tenor, called on Cap- 
tain Vial, of the Cochran, and gave him tersely my 
views of the situation. I pointed out to him that I did 
not command a prison ship, but that his countrymen, 
who had taken refuge on board of me. were the guests 
of the United States, and that they were there with the 
knowledge and consent of the Chilean Government. I 
assured him that I would protect them to the last ex- 
tremity, and warned him to keep all boats away from 
the immediate vicinity, or they might come to grief. 
At the same time I notified him that I would only allow 
boats from men of war showing the Chilean flag to 
come alongside the Yorktown, so that in case anything 
unpleasant happened I should know whom to hold re- 
sponsible. After this there was no more trouble, but I 
was constantly on the lookout and prepared for it. 

294 



CHAPTER XXIII 

A WELCOME DEPARTURE 

About January 20th I received telegraphic orders 
permitting me to land my passengers at Callao, Peru, 
at my discretion. I at once notified the Chilean au- 
thorities that I would leave Valparaiso in six hours. 
I also visited the EngHsh admiral and gave him the 
same information. He called my attention to the fact 
that four of the Chilean ships had steam up, and to 
the further fact that it had been announced in the Val- 
paraiso papers that when I went to sea their ships 
would go after me to see that I did not land the refugees 
and get up another revolution. I told the admiral 
very plainly that if any ship or number of ships fol- 
lowed me to sea and undertook to follow my motions 
I would regard it as an act of gross discourtesy and 
insult to my flag, and would resent it on the spot. I 
never learned whether he communicated with the 
Chileans on the subject or not, but when I got under 
way at the time I had fixed and steamed out, nobody 
pursued me, or attempted to do so. The condition 
in Valparaiso had become almost unbearable, and it 
was with a sense of great relief that I found myself 
at sea. 

During the early part of the first night out, while 
20 295 



A Sailors Log 

running at very high speed, a suspicious noise was 
heard in the high-pressure cylinder of one of the en- 
gines. When the cylinder head was taken off I found 
two hardened steel wedges, which had been placed in 
the valve chest, no doubt, when w^e first arrived at 
Valparaiso by some evilly disposed person, with the 
intention of sending us all to the bottom. It could 
easily have been done when we first arrived, and before 
we knew what kind of people we had to deal with. It 
was simply a miracle that I escaped a serious disaster, 
for if the cylinder head had been knocked out with the 
pressure of steam I was carrying, the side of the ship 
would have gone with it. As I stood watching the 
group of machinists and firemen working about the en- 
gines I could see the blood come into their faces until 
the whites of their eyes were bloodshot. I knew pretty 
well what they were thinking, and was very careful that 
all parts of the ship were thoroughly guarded until my 
refugees were landed in Peru, safe and happy. 

One of the performances that had most tried my 
patience and temper at Valparaiso was the way they ran 
their torpedo boats about my ship, using her appar- 
ently as a target. At first I considered it only as an 
exhibition of bad manners, but, in view of the various 
warnings I had had, I concluded that there might be 
something more serious in it. It was plain to all hands 
that an effort was being made to impress the officers 
of the foreign ships in port, who watched closely with 
their glasses. I was unwilling to play the part which 
had apparently been assigned me. When they ran at 
me the second time one of the boats missed my stern 
by less than six feet. I went to quarters at once and 

296 



Saucy Torpedo Boats 

gave orders, if one of them even scratched the paint 
on the Yorktown, to blow the boat out of the water 
and kill every man in her, so that there could be no 
question of an accidental collision. I then saw the 
officer in charge of the drills, and told him that he cer- 
tainly had great confidence in the steering gear of his 
torpedo boats; that if anything should jam so that one 
of them struck me I would blow her bottom out. He 
repHed that the water in the harbour belonged to his 
Government, and that he proposed to use it for the 
purpose of drilling his boats. I answered that I was 
fully aware of the ownership he had stated, but that 
the Yorktown and the paint on her belonged to the 
United States, and that neither must be defaced by his 
torpedo boats. After this incident they did not run at 
us so much, though the newspapers encouraged them 
to do so. 

Before the refugees were well clear of me at Callao 
I had coal lighters alongside, and in a few hours I was 
ready to start back to Valparaiso to see the trouble 
out. In answer to my telegram saying that I was ready 
to sail, I was directed to await further orders at Callao. 
The following from my journal is of interest, as showing 
my feelings at the time: 

" Saturday Night, February 6th. — A mail is in, and 
I have nice letters from friends commending my course 
at Valparaiso; very satisfactory, but I wish the news- 
papers would let me alone. Why should they call me 
* Fighting Bob '? Some of them say they must take 
my statements v/ith ' very large grains of salt.' But 
generally they seem to commend me, which, if one must 
figure in them, is the best way; but as I see my duty 

297 



A Sailor's Log 

I shall do it, hoping for the approval of the Govern- 
ment. When they send me orders I shall try to follow 
them. Some of the letters say, ' We are waiting for 
you to stir up the war,' and the writers will never know 
how near I came to doing it. Looking back at it now, 
I am glad I did just what I did, and in the way I did 
it. I would not change it if I could. Of course, I 
could have ' stirred up the war,' and it may be that 
people would have justified me, but I could not justify 
myself. In the discharge of my duty I gave the 
Chileans a fine chance to light if they wanted to, and 
the odds were enough in their favour — nine ships to 
one. But they backed water every time, and I main- 
tained a dignified and resolute position. 

" Of course, if they had provoked it I should have 
engaged their nine ships \vithout hesitation, and the 
chances would not have favoured my getting the York- 
town out of their harbour. I am glad also that I got 
away from Valparaiso just when I did, for I am sure 
that if WQ had been there when the President's ulti- 
matum came I should have had to open on them, the 
feeling was so intense. They would have insulted me 
again, and I should have attacked them. If the Gov- 
ernment is going to demand a salute to our flag, and 
will send a lot of ships, I should like to be in command 
of one of them. But it is useless to send a single ship; 
it would only be insulted, as the Chileans respect noth- 
ing but force." 

The excitement and worry of Valparaiso had told 
severely on the officers of the Yorktown, especially on 
me. I was therefore much pleased when the railroad 
officials at Lima tendered us a trip over the Andes on 

298 



A Trip over the Andes 

the Arroyo road, which was a real pleasure and recrea- 
tion. They were good enough to give me a special 
car and engine for the use of the party, which consisted 
of sixteen officers of the Boston and Yorktown. The 
car was just large enough to hold us, and the engine 
was in proportion, so that the train looked Hke a toy 
concern; but the speed was sufficient for my taste. I 
had, of course, heard of the splendid work Meigs and 
his fellow-Americans had done on this road, but I had 
no conception of its wonderful details, nor do I be- 
lieve any one can have until he sees them. It dwarfed 
all the railroad work I had ever seen; indeed, all the 
work of any kind. The road was completed to a point 
thirteen thousand two hundred feet above sea level, 
which left only about two thousand feet more to climb 
before crossing the divide, after which it was intended 
to descend the eastern slope of the mountains to the 
head waters of the Amazon. 

The wild flowers along the roadside were beautiful. 
Up to an elevation of ten thousand feet the sides of 
the track were covered with wild heliotrope. All the 
way to the top of the mountain daisies of several va- 
rieties were in abundance. The scenery was grand 
beyond description. In many places the engineers 
making the surveys had been suspended over the face 
of the cliffs thousands of feet from anywhere. The 
location of such a road seemed to me more wonderful 
than the construction which followed, though the latter 
was certainly a monument to American genius and 
pluck. 

When we reached the station at the highest point 
of the road, I got out and walked a short distance 

299 



A Sailor's Log 

to test the theory that the heart's action is much 
weakened at such an elevation. I was quickly satis- 
fied; the distress was immediate, and I was ready to 
sit down again when 1 had walked a hundred feet or 
less. I found the men in charge and the drivers of the 
llama trains there were strong and hearty, but it had 
required many months to accustom them to breath- 
ing the rarefied air. These llama trains deserve a men- 
tion. The curious, long-necked, delicate-looking ani- 
mals were used to transport silver ore from the 
mines in the mountains to the railroad on its way 
to the smelters. The ore was placed on their backs 
in bags, and so long as you put one hundred pounds 
or less on each one they would climb the mountain 
trails in a wonderful way; but if you put more than 
a hundred pounds on them, they would lie down 
quietly and stay there until you removed the extra 
weight. 

On the run down from Chicla, steam was cut off 
and all brakes put on; but even then we tore around 
curves and through tunnels in a way to make one's hair 
stand on end. At Lima I dined with our minister and 
retired early to my hotel, hoping for a restful night, but 
I was sadly disappointed. Fleas and mosquitoes bit 
rne, foul smells attacked my nostrils, and cats and dogs, 
which seemed to abound, squalled and barked all night. 
About five in the morning I heard the most extraordi- 
nary noise, something between the squeal of a pig and 
the cackle of a hen, and, on looking for the cause from 
my window, found a little, dried-up, old she-devil of 
a Peruvian woman, who seemed to be in charge of 
all the servants, and was berating them for everything 

300 



A Callao Painter 

she could lay her tongue to. She never drew breath 
until eight o'clock or after. 

The English flagship Warspite arrived at Callao 
about this time from Valparaiso, and her crew, to show 
their good feeling for us, invited forty men from the 
Yorktown and one hundred from the Boston to dine 
on board with them, and afterward gave them a min- 
strel performance. The admiral at the same time en- 
tertained six American ofincers, and had to meet them 
five of his own, which, with himself at the head of the 
table, made a jovial party of twelve. The Warspite 
was off in the early morning, so that we could do noth- 
ing to show our appreciation of their courtesy. 

During our stay at Callao the weather was very 
damp, with constant fogs, and the efifect on a steel ship 
was enough to break an executive officer's heart. The 
plates wept rust from every joint and rivet, and with 
constant care and attention it was almost impossible to 
keep the ship looking her best. Injury was unavoid- 
able from the rust in places where neither scraper nor 
paint brush could reach. We had a fair sample of what 
all seafaring men know as a " Callao painter," which 
turned all our beautiful paint work black as a pot, 
hence its name. It also offended our nostrils and 
affected our stomachs unpleasantly. The vile odours 
which arise from the water during the " Painters " have 
been attributed to various causes, but on this occasion 
they were immediately followed by a very severe earth- 
quake, which led me to think that possibly the gases 
escaping from the earth had caused the phenomenon. 
Many people believed that the accumulated sewage 
of centuries in the bottom of the harbour had some- 

301 



A Sailors Loe 



£> 



thing to do with it. Whatever the cause might be, I 
was constantly dreading an epidemic of typhoid. I for- 
tunately escaped with one case only. 

The mail on February' 28th brought home news- 
papers as late as February loth. I find in my journal 
the following: 

" The correspondence between Blaine and Montt is 
published, and certainly the Chilean ought to go home 
after the skinning Blaine has given him. It amuses me 
to see that Montt objects to my cablegram of January 
1 8th. The cable was addressed to the Secretary of the 
Navy, and he and the President evidently did not con- 
sider it objectionable, or they would not have given it 
out for publication. Or if they did disapprove, they 
have never said so to me. 

" February 2gth. — The good ship Boston got of? on 
time Saturday, crowing over the poor little Yorktown 
for having been left ' in the soup,' as it were; but I am 
sure the Secretary will look after us and not let us 
suffer. To-day our repairs are finished, and I have 
wired the Secretary that we are ready for sea, and I 
hope for orders soon. The weather here is very trying, 
not only to oflficers and men, but also to the ship. 

" Some of the home papers seem rabid on the sub- 
ject of Mr. Egan; but his course has been dignified 
and just, and certainly his letters show great ability. 
His appointment was the most extraordinary thing in 
diplomatic history, but his conduct at Santiago has 
justified it. Harrison's message is splendid, and if it 
does not make him the next President I shall be sur- 
prised. 

" March 2d. — Our orders have come — to 'Frisco in 
302 



Turtles 

my own time and way. The men are cheering like mad 
all over the ship. We shall sail on the morning of the 
4th, and be in 'Frisco April 2d or 3d. Needless to 
say, I am delighted with my orders." 

After leaving Callao one of my officers developed 
typhoid fever, and in order to insure his recovery I 
ran into Acapulco and bought a goat, so that he might 
have the advantage of fresh milk. Here I again met 
Admiral Hotham in the Warspite, and the moment he 
learned that I had a case of serious illness he sent his 
boat to me with the only piece of ice in the harbour. 
His courtesy and kindness to me were unfailing when- 
ever we met. I wired the Department from Acapulco, 
and went to sea at once. I was in the port less than 
two hours. 

When off the Galapagos Islands the water was 
covered with turtles. I counted five hundred in sight 
at one time. Many of them were asleep, and as I had 
to swing ship for compass deviations, I took occasion 
at the same time to supply the crew with plenty of 
fresh meat. Two whale boats were lowered and 
manned for the purpose. They pulled up quietly to 
the turtles one after another, and before they were 
fairly awake the men had yanked them into the boats 
by their flippers. In less than an hour both boats had 
been filled and were alongside, when the catch was dis- 
tributed among the different messes and the boats 
hoisted in their places. 

North of the Galapagos Islands I had a curious 
experience. I had for days noticed a large number of 
what I supposed to be fish breaking the water at some 
distance from the ship. I took them to be skip-jacks, 

303 



A Sailor's Loe 



t> 



a species of the mackerel family, as their motions much 
resembled those of this fish, which I had often caught 
in the Atlantic. I broke out my trolling lines, and with 
the most seductive baits fished zealously for several 
days, but entirely without success. Not a scale could 
I capture. It was only after many months in the arctic 
later on that I discovered that I had been fishing for 
young fur seals. 

I felt sure that the Yorktown could steam from 
Callao to San Francisco without recoaling, a distance 
of about forty-five hundred miles, and meant to give 
her the reputation of having done it; but when ofY San 
Diego we struck a streak of bad coal, and as I only had 
fifty tons remaining on board I deemed it prudent to 
run in there and replenish my supply, which I did. I 
only remained overnight and then hurried on my way, 
arriving in San Francisco March 26, 1892. On the way 
up from San Diego after passing Santa Barbara we had 
a succession of gales with biting cold weather, which 
caused us much suffering, fresh as we were from the 
heat of the tropics. My typhoid fever patient was a 
plucky youngster, and fought hard for his life, but I 
could see that he was growing weaker day by day, ow- 
ing to the unavoidable discomforts of the pitching, 
rolling ship. However, I landed him the moment we 
arrived, and sent him to the Mare Island Hospital, 
where he rapidly recovered. 



304 



CHAPTER XXIV 

FROM CHILE TO BERING SEA 

The people of San Francisco gave me and the crew 
of the Yorktown a very hearty welcome. They made 
it plain to us that they considered the treatment of 
the Baltimore men an outrage which they were quite 
ready to fight about. The general feeling seemed to be 
that if I had brought on a war they would have con- 
sidered that I was right, and would have backed me up 
for doing so. As soon as I landed I was recognised, 
though in plain clothes, and the outspoken commenda- 
tion of the people was most embarrassing to me. I 
consoled myself, however, with the thought that their 
condemnation would have been impossible to bear. 

After one day at San Francisco I docked the York- 
town at Mare Island, and, being anxious to get ready 
for service at the first possible moment, put my men 
to work scraping the outside of the ship as the dock 
was pumped out. When the last water had disap- 
peared we were ready for the paint, and in forty-eight 
hours again ready to go to sea. This action led to 
a bitter attack being made on me by some of the local 
labour unions, who claimed that I was taking the bread 
out of the mouths of the poor workmen when I or- 
dered my crew to scrape the bottom of the ship. I con- 

305 



A Sailor's Log 

tended that it was as much my duty to clean the bot- 
tom of the ship as it was the top, and that they had 
no more right to paint the outside of her than they 
had the inside. In any case I had done what I consid- 
ered my duty, and the ship was ready for sea in a very 
short space of time. 

" Mare Island, California, April 8, i8g2. — We have 
been two weeks waiting to know what we were to do, 
but no word came. The men were working hard all the 
time, hoping for liberty, money, etc., when the work 
was done, but no money was sent for them, and the 
yard people would not do the few repairs necessary, nor 
would they put stores and coal on board. To-day came 
telegraphic orders, and every man and boy is up to 
his eyes in coal dust; and at the same time we are 
taking in provisions and stores of all kinds, and I shall 
go to sea on Monday most uncomfortable. This sort 
of thing is anything but good for the navy. My men 
had every right to expect leave here, as they have not 
put foot ashore in the United States since we left New 
York, and while of course they do their work, they do 
it without heart. Our orders are to proceed to Port 
Townsend, Washington, and there await instructions. 

" April loth. — Another telegram came yesterday to 
delay departure until a general court-martial could try 
three of the Yorktown's men, which will delay us prob- 
ably a week. The court is ordered for next I^Ionday, 
April 1 8th, and we shall probably sail for Port Town- 
send on Thursday or Friday, where we shall arrive four 
or five days after sailing. The present programme is 
for us to wait there until time to stop the scalers and 
then go to Bering Sea, where we shall spend most of 

306 



An Earthquake 

the summer. It will be interesting to see that part of 
the world; but having fried us in the tropics for months, 
they are now going to cool us off near the Arctic Circle. 

" Mare Island, April 14th. — I am informed, unoffi- 
cially, to-day that I am to be senior officer in Bering 
Sea, and have five ships to do the work. Of course 
it is a compliment, and it is good to be so well thought 
of by the Secretary, but it will give me no end of work 
and care. If one is to serve, it is best so. To-morrow 
I go to 'Frisco again to complete my sea outfit for 
arctic weather, and at the same time make arrange- 
ments to have fresh provisions sent north each month 
for the crew; it seems that we can get nothing of that 
kind up there. 

" Mare Island, April i8th. — The people out here 
are awfully good to me; I never knew anything like 
the feeling they show. They are now talking about 
the marvellous way in which I brought the Yorktown 
up to the yard and took my buoy. There's nothing in 
it; we only came fast and made a nice turn in a narrow 
space. If they had seen us come through the English 
Narrows they would probably have had a fit. I have 
been in command of the Yorktown nine months to- 
day. This summer will be anxious work for me, but 
at the same time interesting. 

" Mare Island, April B^d. — I was in the comman- 
dant's office day before yesterday when the second 
terrible earthquake came, and I was never so fright- 
ened in my life. The first movement was light, but 
then came the dreadful twisting, and the building 
creaked and groaned as if it must surely come down, 
and I don't see now why it did not. The general court- 

307 



A Sailor's Log 

martial, sitting in the next room, promptly adjourned, 
and, as I heard all hands making for the open, I asked 
the admiral to excuse me, and it was surprising to sec 
how my old game leg got down the stairs. After it was 
over I examined the building, and found every arch 
broken through and the plaster ready to fall in every 
room. The poor women and children all over the 
island spent most of the day afterward on the side- 
walks — some of them were made ill from it ; and I learn 
from the newspapers that the northern part of the State 
suffered great damage and loss. At seven in the evening 
another shock came, but not so severe. Of course, it 
is only a question of time, if this sort of thing goes 
on, when the buildings will fall and cause great loss 
of life. 

" A telegram came from the Department yesterday, 
asking when I could be ready for sea. I requested the 
admiral to reply that I had been ready ever since I 
arrived, but I don't believe he did it. I have the idea 
that a vessel of war should always be ready to do 
service. 

" Marc Island, April 25th. — The latest telegram to 
the admiral about us reads, * Have the Yorktown ready 
for sea at the earliest possible moment, but do not 
allow her to leave without further instructions.' I 
wonder if the Department is afraid I will run away 
with the little frigate and turn pirate. Young Jackson 
was walking about yesterday, and will be well of his 
typhoid fever in a month or two. 

" Mare Island, April 26th. — At last the orders have 
come, and I am directed to proceed to Port Townsend, 
collect all the information I can about the sealing fleet, 

308 



Too Much "Fighting Bob" 

and carry out the instructions which will reach me 
there. Of course, that means that I am to spend the 
summer chasing sealers. 

" Port Tozunsend, April ^oth, — We certainly do 
have bad luck sometimes, and this is one of the times. 
We left Mare Island on Wednesday at noon, and have 
made steamer time up here, but with such a nasty 
gale behind us that the little ship has rolled more than 
at any time since we left New York. Thursday I was 
on deck all day and most of the night, and the strain 
on my wounded foot was so bad that it gave way, and 
I am now on my back. Rheumatism followed the 
strain, and I have suffered very much, but am now ' on 
the mend.' It is plain that I am to have a pretty hard 
summer with the fogs, gales, sealers, and other ' var- 
mints.' I am now in command of five ships, but with- 
out orders from the Department, and hence at a loss 
to know what they expect me to do. My instructions 
will, no doubt, come at the last moment, and give no 
end of trouble. This morning the shore people have 
been off to welcome me, and the newspapers are most 
complimentary. Too much ' Fighting Bob ' business. 

" Port Toivnsend, May jc?. — My orders have come, 
and they seem endless, and the telegrams are dropping 
in by the dozen. The people block up the decks, they 
are so thick; and, in addition to it all, my cabin table 
and chairs are piled up with printed documents and 
charts until I am distracted. My orders are confiden- 
tial: I am to prepare the fleet, which I am ordered to 
command, for a six months' cruise in the North Pacific 
and Bering Sea — the second largest fleet in commis- 
sion, and the most active and important work of our 

309 



A Sailor's Loe 



^5 



navy at present. The Yorktown, Mohican, Adams, 
Ranger, and Rush compose the fleet, and if I can do 
half what my orders call for I shall consider that I 
have done well. The orders are certainly ironclad, and 
make me complete boss in the North Pacific and Ber- 
ing Sea. I shall make a stab at it, and only hope that 
I succeed and make no blunders. Commanding a fleet 
without clerks or a staff of any kind is hard work. 

'* My old bones are better, and if the clear, bracing 
weather continues I shall pull up to my average in a 
few days. The view from the ship is finer than anything 
I ever saw in Italy. Snow-clad mountains, one hundred 
and thirty miles away, standing out clear as crystal 
against the most perfect sky and looking as if one 
could walk to them in two hours, and air that feels as 
brittle as spun glass as I breathe it. 

" Port Toivnsend, May 5th. — The grind still goes on, 
and playing admiral with no stafT is not an easy thing. 
However, I shall make out somehow, and have the fleet 
ready for sea next Tuesday or Wednesday, and then 
wait the word from Washington to sail. I have a 
serious work ahead of me and appreciate that much 
depends on the way it is done. It has been much de- 
layed here by the crowds and jams of people, who flock 
to the ship until we can scarcely move for them. But 
I know they mean to be kind; they say they admire 
and like me, and it would be ungracious not to see 
them. Even more — they would be offended and could 
not understand if they were told that my official duties 
were so pressing that I could not see them; so I work 
along as best I can. Of course, I can only do a very 
small part of what is expected of me socially. Some of 

310 



The Social Whirl 

these people came on board with a band to welcome us; 
it made me feel like a fool. Last night was the first 
occasion of my appearance in the ' social whirl ' here. 
I attended a reception where I was placed in a parlour, 
and then each person was formally presented to me — 
all kind and friendly, some charming. To-morrow I 
am to go to two receptions of the Governor and Mrs. 
Ferry. 

" Port Townsend, May yth. — Yesterday and to-day 
have been great days for this place, and very hard on 
me because of all the work I have had in addition to the 
functions in connection with the centennial of the dis- 
covery of Puget Sound by Captain Vancouver. For 
days the committees have been running after me con- 
stantly to help them out with all sorts of details, which 
I have done, and yesterday active work began on the 
arrival of his Excellency the Governor. I went, with 
all the other officers, in full dress, to pay our respects 
at a reception given by the President of the First Na- 
tional Bank. 

" As there are some revenue marine vessels in my 
command, their officers came as well, and we made a 
good show, in a long line of carriages, much observed 
by the people. At the residence of Colonel Landes a 
company of State troops was drawn up who gave me a 
salute as I marched by them. I was escorted to the 
parlour where were the Governor and Mrs. Ferry sur- 
rounded by the wealth and fashion of Port Townsend. 
Colonel Landes introduced me with a most kind speech, 
which concluded by saying that ' the American people 
were proud of ' me. Then Governor Ferry said many 
more flattering things, and then they introduced me 

21 311 



A Sailor's Log 

to every one in the room, and each one said something 
kind and cordial. To-day we have fired three salutes, 
twenty-one guns each, dressed ships with flags, and 
otherwise disported ourselves, to the great gratification 
of the Port Townsendites. Early in the day I was 
caught and put as the chief support of the Governor, 
and something happened to me which really touched 
me. I was standing on the sidewalk near the grand 
stand when quite a crowd of plain-looking people — 
men, women, and children — came up, and one said, 
'Governor Ferry, we want to speak to the captain of the 
Yorktown and introduce our wives.' Of course, I 
spoke to them all, and every one had a kind word for 
mc. Then a lot of miners, hard-looking chaps, came 
and sized me up, and each one said, ' Cap, shake,' and I 
shook till my hand was almost disabled. After the 
review we drove to the beach to a mammoth clambake, 
and there the ladies embarrassed me with their kind- 
ness — saying and doing things to me that they might 
have done to Admiral Farragut. 

" Port Tozvnscnd, May loth. — Eastern papers have 
come, some saying that Mr. Blaine admits that my 
telegram from Valparaiso was ' improper.' Mr. Tracy, 
my superior and commanding officer, has not said to 
me that he approved of my course in Chile, but he gives 
me the most important command in the navy, and 
I shall go on just the same, and do as I did in Chile, 
what I feel to be my duty to my country. They are 
heaping the work on me now. Yesterday I took the 
Rush and went over to Esqnimault to spend the day 
with Admiral Hotham, and get from him and his 
officers their plans for the summer. My visit w^as 

312 



Off for Berinor Sea 



& 



most successful and delightful, and I am glad I went. 
The admiral kept me to luncheon and dinner; we 
had a most satisfactory time, and made all arrange- 
ments for co-operation during the summer. They will 
send the Melpomene and Daphne, and their command- 
ing officers will be practically under my orders, so I 
am really to have a big command. 

" I left here at seven in the morning, and returned 
at 2 A. M. to-day, but could not get to bed until 3.30, 
as my desk was full of letters and telegrams, the answers 
to which had to go at seven. I was up again at eight, 
and have scarcely had the pen out of my hand since, 
except for an ofTficial interview with the commanding 
officers of the Mohican and Adams, and I see no chance 
for a let-up until we go to sea. I have wired to-day 
that four vessels of the fleet are ready to sail, and that 
I am anxious to get away. The other four vessels can 
join us later at Unalaska. I now have eight under my 
command — quite a showing for a commander. But 
Chilean refugees and arctic outfits have hardly left me 
money to pay my bills. 

" Port Townsend, May nth. — The final orders have 
come, and we are ofif day after to-morrow (13th) early 
in the morning with the Yorktown, Adams, Mohican, 
and Rush, leaving orders for the Ranger, Corwin, Bear, 
and Albatross to join me at Unalaska. I have written, 
with my own hands, detailed instructions for each of 
them, besides many letters of all kinds. Surely I shall 
have no end of work this trip. We sail under sealed 
orders, not to be opened until we are outside the straits. 
It seems a curious thing to do in time of profound 
peace, and I wonder what it can mean. Until some 

313 



A Sailor's Log 

letters came to-day I had not realized what an amount 
of talk the papers had made about my work in Chile. 
I was not aware that my cables to the Department had 
been published. It is bearable to have the papers call 
me ' Fighting Bob ' when I see that my friends approve 
of me and are pleased and proud of the notoriety." 



314 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE NAVY AMONG THE SEALERS 

The preparation of the fleet for service had been 
hard work, but the prospect of doing something braced 
all hands up wonderfully. At first it looked as if we 
would surely have a collision with the British navy 
over the seal question, and I knew, of course, that 
that meant a bitter and destructive war. The long 
struggle over the modus vivendi was not concluded 
when my instructions were sent me, and I knew the 
moment I read them that if I carried them out we 
would have war on our hands within a week. Hence I 
was much relieved when the terms of that instrument 
had been agreed upon, and the whole contents wired 
me for my guidance. My first orders contemplated the 
seizure of all sealing vessels found within certain limits, 
and the orders of the British admiral were to protect 
the Canadian sealers in the same limits. It is easy to 
see what any action on my part would have led to. 
Fortunately, wise counsels prevailed, and united action 
between the two navies was decided upon. 

While these sea preparations were being made I 
used my best endeavours to find out where the sealing 
fleet would rendezvous, in order that I might be on 
hand to seize the supply steamer, which would much 

315 



A Sailor's Log 

simplify my work during the summer. With the assist- 
ance of detectives, sent us from Washington, I inter- 
viewed the men most Hkely to give the secret away; 
but I found that they were absolutely in the dark, as all 
the vessels of the fleet were to go to sea with sealed 
orders, which were to be delivered to them only on 
the eve of their departure. 

To make the situation clearer, it may be well to 
give here, in a few words, the course pursued by these 
sealers, of whom so much has been written. The fleet 
was composed entirely of schooners, large and small, 
and numbered about one hundred and ten. They were 
not owned, as many people supposed, entirely by Brit- 
ish subjects. Many of them had American owners, but 
sailed under the English flag. Many others sailed under 
the American flag. All were controlled by the Sealers' 
Association. Each vessel had its regular crew for 
working her, and in addition from ten to forty men, 
according to her size, who were known as hunters, and 
who did the killing. They were armed with double- 
barrelled No. lo shotguns for the seals, and a good out- 
fit of Winchester rifles for revenue officers or others who 
interfered with them. Each schooner carried a number 
of dories or small boats to be used in sneaking on the 
sleeping seals; and each of these boats had one or 
two long gaff-hooks, or poles with several hooks on the 
sides, for the purpose of catching, if possible, the bodies 
which sank rapidly after being shot. 

When the seal herd appeared off San Francisco, 
usually early in February, from its winter quarters in 
the south, the fleet joined it, and remained with it until 
it entered the Bering Sea through one of the passes. 

316 



Seal Poachers 

During all this long trip of the herd around and across 
the North Pacific the work of destruction went on. 
The great majority of the seals were females with young, 
hurrying on to the Pribilof Islands to their breeding 
ground, and therefore each one killed represented two 
lives — mother and pup. In almost any kind of weather, 
the schooner would heave to in the morning and hoist 
out her boats, and, drifting away, leave them to their 
deadly work until a full boat or darkness compelled 
them to stop. Many boats were lost in the fog, and 
their crews lost their lives either from drowning or star- 
vation. Yet the profits were so large that men will- 
ingly took these chances. Less than half the seals 
killed in this way were recovered, as their bodies sank 
very quickly. It is easily seen what was to be the fate 
of a herd of animals where the females, bearing only 
one offspring at a time, were being thus destroyed. As 
the herd approached the Aleutian Islands, and the time 
for giving birth to the young drew near, the females 
moved through the water with great rapidity, hurrying 
on to their breeding grounds, and very few of them, 
comparatively speaking, were killed. The slaughter in 
the North Pacific proper was fearful. 

Before leaving Port Townsend I had been supplied 
with printed notices warning sealers not to enter Ber- 
ing Sea, and these the Department expected me to 
serve on every vessel in the fleet, no matter of what 
nationality. The number of vessels was one hundred 
and ten, and as a matter of fact I found at the end 
of the season that the force under my command had 
boarded and served notice on one hundred and seven 
of them. Some of them had been boarded so often 

1^7 



A Sailor's Log 

that their log books were veritable collections of auto- 
graphs of American commanders. It had leaked out 
before sailing that the Canadian vessels would refuse 
to obey a warning served by an American officer, and, 
as I did not wish to make trouble when it could be 
avoided, I took a sufficient number of notices to 
Admiral Hotham, who indorsed them in his official 
capacity, which effectually spiked the guns of these 
would-be sea lawyers. 

When finally ready I sent all but two vessels to the 
North Pacific to follow and serve notice on the sealers. 
With the Yorktown and one revenue cutter I ran direct 
to Unalaska, where I arrived after a very rough passage, 
with much fog to contend with about the passes. As 
soon as coaled I ran north and skirted the ice all the 
way around the Pribilof Islands, to make sure that no 
sealers were lurking about the sea. Then, with the 
assistance of the cutter, I guarded the passes to prevent 
any one from entering, while the rest of my force con- 
tinued its work to the north. My men suffered from 
exposure and the lack of fresh provisions, but we were 
always able to give them all the fresh fish they wanted. 
We had only to stop the engines and get the lines over- 
board, and in a few hours catch three or four hundred 
pounds of beautiful codfish. Sometimes I gave them 
.salmon, but I soon found that they could not eat this 
many days in succession — it was too rich. Codfish 
was our mainstay. The following from my journal may 
be of interest: 

" At Sea, June 4, i8p2. — Had a good breakfast to- 
day — broiled king salmon, potatoes, cold reindeer 
roast, onion salad, and a slice of cold English ham — 

318 



Arctic Scenery 

Delmonico could hardly beat it. But yesterday I tried 
to eat a piece of bear-meat — well, a Chinese baby dead 
of the smallpox, or a mangy dog that had Uved on fish 
and the Httle bugs we sometimes find on berries, might 
be something like it. A kind skipper gave me the meat 
before I left Unalaska, and my steward let his skill out 
on it. I afterward let out almost my eternal soul on 
account of it. Such is life in the arctic, and I am not 
enjoying it. But as I write this I am surrounded by 
such beauty and grandeur and calmness as one sees 
rarely in a lifetime. We are anchored in the open Ber- 
ing Sea, live miles from the chain of the Aleutian 
Islands, and from the deck one can count over a dozen 
of the most graceful, beautiful snow-covered peaks in 
the world, all dazzling, blinding white. Then I can 
see two active volcanoes, puffing out smoke and steam 
as the devil snorts and roars inside the crust, and three 
extinct ones — all strange to look at but most beauti- 
ful and curious. The rim of the crater of one of them 
is surmounted by what looks, from this distance — 
sixty miles — like a huge frill of lace, the snow on 
the contorted lava giving the effect. Add to this 
that the day has been the first clear one we have 
had, and warm, and one would think I might be con- 
tent, and so I am after a fashion. There is nothing 
for me but duty, and, contrary to much * guff ' given 
me in my youth on that subject, it does not fill the bill 
entirely. 

" We came down here yesterday — or rather we 
started yesterday — from Unalaska, to see if we could 
catch some sealers who have for several years made 
this vicinity a sort of headquarters for their work. We 

319 



A Sailor's Log 

passed the fishing fleet on the way down, hard at work 
packing codfish, but nothing in the shape of a sealer. 
Indeed, I can not see what they would come here for, 
as I have not laid eyes on a single seal or even a pup. 
I wonder why seals were made, anyhow. And if I had 
my way with the curious old idiots who went about the 
world discovering places — Straits of Magellan, North 
Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, etc., etc. — I would feed 
them on bear-meat and then chuck them down one of 
these lovely volcanoes. We are here to-day owing 
to these idiots, and as I wished for a quiet Sunday, 
I found a place to anchor; and here we are, where I 
shall stay until day after to-morrow, when I hope 
to do some target-firing — using a sealer for a target 
if I can find one — and then clear out for the western 
end of the islands and so back to the beautiful Una- 
laska. 

" Sunday, June ^tJi. — The little blow of last night 
was the breaking out of a southeast gale, and now the 
weather is as nasty as usual in these waters — blowing 
a gale, cold as charity, thick as mud, and raining in 
torrents. We are snug, however, and shall hold on until 
to-morrow, and then run to the west. Every day that 
passes is so much gain for us on our way somewhere 
— it may be 'Frisco, it may be China, or it may be 
some Atlantic port. One can imagine how low we 
have fallen when we look upon Unalaska as quite a 
metropolis. 

" The men to-day have caught more than two thou- 
sand pounds of codfish from the vessel in less than 
three hours' fishing. Tt is blowing a gale, and in spite 
of it and the pouring rain they would fish all the 

320 



At Unalaska 

time if I would permit it; but if they were ordered 
to do so they would consider it a great hardship, 
and growl accordingly. The life here is more mo- 
notonous and isolated than I could have thought 
possible. 

" Iluilidk, Unalaska, June 8th. — Here we are, back 
again, but no target practice and no sealers so far. 
Yesterday morning the weather was so bad that we got 
under way and came back here. At midnight I put the 
ship's head off shore until the fog lifted, and we saw 
land for a moment, which was all I wanted, and at 
6 A. M. we were anchored in this snug little hole. An 
hour later the Corwin was in, and we had our first mail 
since leaving Port Townsend. I have a peck of letters, 
of course, and the newspapers seem to have begun on 
me again. 

" My work here is really beginning to crowd now, 
and I have a matter of vital importance on hand, in 
which I hope to succeed; but the chances are dreadfully 
against me. Every year the British sealing fleet has 
chartered a large steamer to meet it at some out-of- 
the-way place in the Aleutian Islands, where all the 
skins are transferred and so sent back to Victoria, 
British Columbia, and a fresh supply of provisions laid 
in. Such action in American waters is, of course, 
illegal, and I am straining every nerve to find their 
place of rendezvous for this year. The steamer is sup- 
posed by the Navy Department to be the Danube, and 
if I can find her I shall seize her and her cargo and 
all the schooners that have transferred to her, and take 
them to Sitka — I hope between the 15th and 25th of 
June. Last year thirty-eight sealers transferred to the 

321 



A Sailor's Log 

steamer in one day twenty-five thousand skins, and 
received from her a large supply of provisions. Our 
patrol fleet was then very small and composed of slow 
vessels. I hope to convince them that we are not up 
here this year for our health." 



322 



CHAPTER XXVI 

STRIKING AT THE SOURCE OF SUPPLIES 

The problem of how to catch the supply steamer 
was a very interesting one, and many people have asked 
me how I did it. The Navy Department had been 
misled by information purposely sent them from Vic- 
toria, and they in turn tried unintentionally to deceive 
me by sending me this false information, saying that it 
came from a reliable source. The rendezvous, as given 
by them, was over eighteen hundred miles from where 
I caught her. The case I had to deal with was similar 
to that of an enemy's cruiser on your coast in time 
of war. What was her objective? I knew that her 
intention was to take skins from the fleet and give it 
provisions, and therefore if I kept touch with the fleet 
I should eventually find the steamer; and I did. Sev- 
eral vessels were detailed to watch the schooners and 
see which way they were heading, and as soon as I had 
this information I felt sure that in that direction some- 
where I would find the steamer I was looking for. 

It is sometimes an officer's duty to do a thing that 
his Government must afterward disavow and punish 
him for having done. Such a case was the capture of 
the Confederate cruiser Florida in Bahia, Brazil, by the 
United States steamer Wachusett during the civil 

323 



A Sailor's Loe 



t) 



war. I felt that I might have to do the same sort of 
thing and face the music. If I found the steamer I 
was after in one of our ports, having violated our rev- 
enue laws, it would be all plain sailing; but suppose 
I found her at sea? What then? I read plainly be- 
tween the lines of my orders that the Washington au- 
thorities considered it of vital importance that she 
should be captured, and I made up my mind to get 
her legally if I could, illegally if I must. If I took 
her at sea, the Department could disavow my act and 
punish me; but in the meantime my mission in the 
North would be accomplished and sealing broken up, 
at least for that year. The schooners would have to 
go back to Victoria for provisions, and it would then 
be too late for them to return to Bering Sea and do 
any real harm. I again quote from my journal: 

" Iluiluik, June ii, i8p2. — We are ofT to-morrow, 
and I am sending the Albatross to Port Townsend on 
Tuesday. Yesterday I spent in bed with neuralgia in 
the muscles of my wounded leg — very painful, but I am 
up to-day. 

" The two British ships, Melpomene and Daphne, 
are in, and their captains are fine chaps and seem ready 
to help me to knock these sealers out in every way. Of 
course, they don't know that I intend to seize the 
Danube, if I can find her, but I think they suspect me. 

" Karluk, Kodiak Island, June i^th. — On Sunday we 
left Iluiluik in a dense fog, and worked our way up 
here, six hundred miles, where we are suddenly in a 
mess. We have caught two American schooners vio- 
lating the law, and may have to seize them both, which 
will greatly embarrass me in my efforts to catch the 

324 



Big Fishing 

English chaps. Johnson, in the Mohican, has seized 
five, and I hear his ship is damaged by grounding. We 
are off as soon as we can get our anchor up. 

" This afternoon I saw a wonderful thing in the 
fishing way — a haul of the seine in which they caught 
fifteen thousand salmon. It was a beautiful sight, and 
they gave me all the king salmon my gig could carry. 
Afterward our men borrowed the seine and caught over 
two thousand, which they are now salting down. The 
Kodiak is the greatest salmon river in the world, sup- 
porting seven canneries, each of which puts up over 
six hundred thousand fish per year. The water is abso- 
lutely alive with them; my cockswain caught one with 
a boathook while we were waiting at the beach. 

" Alitak, Kodiak Island, June i6th. — Just before leav- 
ing Karluk we caught a fool of a schooner captain who 
had been violating the law; he thought I did not know 
it, and gave us some trouble. He started to get under 
way in the afternoon before I had settled his case, but 
I sent a boat with orders for him to anchor his schooner 
and come on board. Before he got to our gangway 
he took his hat off and came over the side with it in 
his hand and shaking as if he were going to have a fit. 
I never saw a man so scared in my life. After get- 
ting some information from him he was allowed to 
go on his way. 

" The people up here seem to think I am some kind 
of a military governor, or something, and come to me 
with the most absurd complaints. I don't mind any of 
them until it comes to the missionary-school teachers. 
They nauseate me. The conditions up here, as I see 
them, are about as bad as they could be, and the whole 

325 



A Sailor's Log 

business is a disgrace to our Government; but I am a 
policeman this trip for sealers only. 

" The northeast gale is still raging, but we have 
found the sealers' snug harbour, I think, and are as 
comfortable as possible, anchored in a sort of lagoon 
which can not be seen from the outside. Six sealers 
have run in out of the gale, and we have them an- 
chored under our guns, where they will stay until I am 
through with them. As we came up the coast this fore- 
noon we made out three schooners, and, as it was blow- 
ing half a gale, they tried to get away from us; but it 
was no use. I let this little frigate out a link or two 
and just drove the schooners as one would drive geese. 

'" We found the Corwin in here, and as I am satis- 
fied the transfer of skins will be made in Prince Wil- 
liam Sound, I have sent her there to catch the gang, 
if possible. 

" Friday, June lyth. — Still the northeaster howls, 
and the little Yorktown tugs and quivers at her an- 
chors; but the land keeps the sea off, and we are snug 
and cosy. Three more sealers ran in last night in the 
blow, and were much surprised to find themselves in 
my clutches. One of them gave away the place of ren- 
dezvous of the English fleet — Port Etches, Prince Wil- 
liam Sound, where I have two vessels waiting for them; 
but I shall run up there myself to-morrow afternoon, I 
think. It is only three hundred miles, and I want to 
make sure of that capture if I can. 

" Port Etches, Prince William Sound, i a. m., Jtine 
2ist. — There is no night here at this season. We left 
Alitak Sunday morning, after the gale had blown out, 
and I have been on my feet almost ever since. There 

326 



A Disappointment 

are practically no charts of this region, and running full 
speed, as we do most of the time, is anything but 
funny. We got here at midnight, just after sunset, 
and now, at i a. m., it is almost sunrise. 

" We found the Mohican here, she having captured 
three American schooners and sent them to Sitka, and 
having been herself on the rocks and knocked about 
somewhat. But she will do for service in the Bering 
Sea this summer. The steamer to receive the skins is 
expected to-morrow or the day after, and I still hope 
to capture her." 

I had made all plans for the capture of the steamer, 
and was confident of success. The vessels of the force 
were gathering for the final move when, on June 21st, 
I ran into Port Etches, and to my dismay found that 
the United States steamer Mohican had been lying 
there for five days, doing just the thing I had cautioned 
her commanding officer not to do — alarming the sealers 
so that they would neither transfer skins nor provisions, 
but seek another port for that purpose. I jumped the 
Mohican out in short order, and then arranged with 
the commanding officer of the Corwin to make the 
seizure. I directed him to run ofif to the south for a 
certain distance, and then change his course so as to 
bring up behind the end of Montague Island, about 
twelve miles from Port Etches, haul his vessel close 
inshore, send down his topmasts and cover his lower 
masts with bushes, so that he would be well hidden from 
inquisitive eyes. He was to remain in that position 
twenty-four hours, and then run over to Port Etches 
and see what he would find. The captain was an able, 
fearless man, and I knew he would carry out my orders. 
23 327 



A Sailor's Log" 

lie said to mc that the twcnty-scvcti schooners then 
in port were well armed and would fi<;ht to a finish 
when the time came. 1 replied thai he had several 
guns of his own, and that he might rely on the York- 
town to be somewhere near when the shooting began. 
After the Corwin and Mohican had gone 1 visited 
what seemed to be the llagship of the sailing fleet, a 
handsome Hurgess schooner of one lunulred and fifty 
tons, having on board a number of gentlemen who were 
cruising during the sunnner as a matter of recreation. 
I told them that 1 was bound south to look after mat- 
ters at Unalaska. and asked that they would warn all 
arrivals to keep out of the Bering Sea during the sum- 
mer, as I should certainly captine I hem if they went in. 
Then I cleared out at top speed, perfectly satisfied that 
a few days would settle the fate of the chap who had 
caused me so much thought and trouble. The Corwin 
waited a few hours, when the fog shut in as thick as 
pea soup. The captain, fearing that the steamer might 
get away in the fog, decided after twelve hours that 
the time had come to act, and proceeded cautiously 
to carry out my orders, lie found the I'ritish steamer 
Coquitlan in Port Etches, and seized her. She had 
received about thirty thousand skins, and at the time 
of the seizure, in a dense fog, had her hatches open 
and was transplanting cargo in violation of law. The 
case against her was so plain that there was no room 
for resistance, and she was towed to Sitka as a prize, 
where she was Ix^nded for six hundred thousand doll.Mrs, 
which all went into the Lhiited States Treasury, and, T 
suspect, paid most of the expenses of our sunnner's 
work. 

328 



Warnin<^- the Scalers 

I ag^aiii ([tiolc from my journal: 

" UnalasLa, Jiiiic J^lh. — lUick aj;aiii to this nie- 
trojjolis. On the way out and down the coast from 
Tort J'^tchcs the scalers were ihicU, all slaiuliii^ for 
i'ort Etches. We were ivei)t busy, day and ni^lil, 
boarding them, and the work was severe on ollicers and 
men, as it blew hard most of the time and the sea was 
nasty. It was funny to see them try to j^ct away from 
us — in which none succeeded — and several had to be 
shot at to brini;- (hem It). Yesterday morning al day- 
light we were in I'niak I'ass, on our way lu-re, and as 
the fog lifted we made out a schooner in .l>ering Sea 
and went for her at full speed. She made sail and 
tried to get away; but three shots from one of llie 
rapid lire guns slopped her, the third one striking 
within a few feet of her. We took her in tow and 
brought her here, but .after a careful search let her go, 
as "she was a whaler bound for the arctic, if the people 
we sometimes hear of who think the navy has nothing 
to do could come up among these islands and sec the 
work the navy is doing hcie rmd hear the things 
that are said of it, they would change their minds — 
if they possess such a thing. 

" We have warned nearly every one of the one hun- 
dred vessels at sea when we left i\)rt Townscnd less 
than six weeks ago, and the navy is rcspi'cted hi-rc- 
abouts as it has never been before; all hands have a very 
wholesome regard for us. \ don't know what the De- 
partment rmd Secretary Tracy will think of the work 
we have done; but tlii-rc can be but one opinion among 
people who know of it. 

''Bering Sea, July ^tJi. — We have had the fog so 
329 



A Sailor's Log 

thick for two days that it seemed as if one could make 
a hole in it with the finger, and the finger would pop, 
like a cork out of a bottle, when it came out. But 
we must go, all the same, sleep or no sleep. 

" We left Unalaska on the 3d, after a week of very 
hard work coaling, cleaning engines, etc., after our driv- 
ing trip to the north. I bundled the Adams off on the 
1st, the Rush on the 2d, and we followed on the 3d. 
Captain Parr, of the Melpomene, says he thinks I am 
interested in the coal contract, as I seem disposed to 
burn up all there is in Bering Sea. He does not pro- 
pose to trouble himself over Canadian sealers, and will 
take things easy, which I can't do; it isn't my w^ay. 
Unalaska was at its best when we left — plenty of fish 
and flowers; the mountains covered with snow, and 
long arms of it running down into the valleys and right 
into the grass and flowers. No one would credit a 
picture of it. In five days after the snow^ has melted 
the grass is knee-high, and the ground covered with 
violets, lupines, anemones, and beautiful orchids, but 
no perfume to any of them. The Alaskan lily is also 
abundant, a very beautiful, almost black flower. Salm- 
on and trout and salmon-trout in profusion, and such 
line-fishing as I never heard of before; but I had no 
time for an hour of it — too busy to think of it. All the 
returns for the quarter, not only for my own ship, but 
for all the vessels of the fleet, must pass through my 
hands and receive my approval, with no one to help me 
but an officer who has a watch to stand. I have very 
little time to amuse myself. 

" On the afternoon of the 3d we passed close to 
the island of Bogosloff, an arctic volcano which came 

330 



A Volcano 

up in 1874 and has not yet cooled off, to judge from 

the clouds of smoke constantly rising from its surface 

not from one particular spot, like Vesuvius or Etna, 
but from the entire surface of the island, making a cone 
of steam, wafted by the wind this way or that, and 
reaching many hundreds of feet into the air. We saw 
it from a distance of forty miles, and soon after we 
passed it the fog shut down on us and here we are — a 
sorry sight to see. The coal sent us is cheap, dirty 
stuff from Nanaimo, British Columbia, and makes a 
dense black smoke which unites with the fog and spat- 
ters the little ship until she looks like a chimney-sweep. 
Officers and men are constantly black and clothes 
ruined. 

''July 6th. — A gray day, or rather night; every- 
thing is gray— sky slate-gray, water blue-gray, air 
smoke-gray — all most depressing. We are working a 
traverse up to St. Paul's Island and covering as much 
ground as possible, but as yet no sign of sealers. It 
is very like old blockade days — every one on the look- 
out, lights screened, and no fog whistle. Very unlike 
the White Squadron picnic. 

" The papers say that Congress is going to give 
admiral's full pay to two officers who have been com- 
manding squadrons. I wonder if they will give me 
any additional pay? I command more vessels than 
both these captains together, and do more work in 
a month than they do in a year. No commander ever 
had such a command before, either in our service or 
any other that I know of, but I hear of no more pay 
for me." 



331 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE HOME OF THE SEALS 

" St. Paul Island, July 8th. — I spent last night on 
deck in a dense fog looking for this blessed island and 
listening to the seals jump and play around us. As 
soon as we came within seventy-five miles of the land 
we found them thick, and I don't wonder the sealers 
want to get in here, for they could fill a schooner in a 
short time. The fog was too much for us all night, but 
this morning early we made the land and anchored at 
ten. As soon as I had had my breakfast I went on 
shore with most of the officers and visited one of the 
' rookeries.' We lay down flat in the grass, and, peer- 
ing over the edge of the bluff, found ourselves within 
twenty feet of thousands of the beautiful and much- 
protected animals. The bulls were savage, and from 
their constant fights much scarred and cut up, and 
hence not so handsome as earlier in the season, but still 
very impressive and dignified. Each had his harem of 
thirty or forty females, and woe unto the male who 
ventured near! If any wife tried to escape she was 
viciously torn and hauled back to her place. The two- 
year-olds, male and female, are not permitted on the 
breeding ground, and it was most amusing to watch 
them form into parties of eight or ten and try to slip 

332 



The Home of the Seals 

past the old bulls. As soon as one discovered them, 
the old chap nearest to them would rise on his hind 
legs, bellow viciously, and make a start toward them, 
when the whole gang would tumble over the rocks into 
the sea and go h'olicking away like a lot of children. 
The young ones — I saw one born while watching them 
— were thick all over and among the rocks, and it was 
most curious to watch the mother, as she came from 
the water, pick out and suckle her own pup. There 
were thousands of them, all bleating like lambs, and 
making enough noise to deafen one; yet the mother 
always recognised the voice of her own pup, and 
dragged herself through the lot until she got to it. The 
pups did not know the mother, and many would try 
to get to her, but she snapped and bit until she got 
the right one. It was certainly one of the most inter- 
esting sights of my rather varied experience. 

" We walked back to the killing grounds over a 
carpet of such beautiful wild flowers as I have never 
before seen; my cabin is full of them, but all odourless. 

" At the killing grounds the natives had just driven 
out and killed five hundred seals, and as a three-year- 
old was being skinned a spear head was found com- 
pletely inclosed and healed up in his flesh. It is the 
kind used by the Alaska Indians, and must have been 
in the seal two years. 

" When I had returned on board and had my 
dinner, the officer of the deck reported a schooner in 
sight at sea. The boats were down, lower booms out, 
and fires banked; but just ten minutes after I gave the 
order we were under way and humming out after 
her. It was most gratifying to see how quickly 

333 



A Sailor's Log 

and quietly everything was done. As we neared the 
schooner I was surprised to see her lower her mainsail 
and heave to, but it was explained when we passed 
under her stern and found she was our old friend Jane 
Gray, which we had seized, towed into Unalaska, and 
afterward released. Her captain said he did not want 
any more of our rapid-fire practice at him. 

" Saturday Night. — More fog and a nasty blow 
from the southeast which gives us all the comforts of a 
sea life while at anchor. I have, however, managed 
to get the whole crew ashore to have a look at the seal 
rookeries, and they are back on board with a message 
from the agent that they have behaved so well that he 
would not object to any number of the same kind com- 
ing whenever they please. I am glad the boys were 
good. 

" Sunday, July lOtJi. — It cleared for just two hours 
to-day, and during that time the Melpomene came 
in, rolling and wallowing like a tub, and anchored near 
us. I begin now to understand why the seals selected 
these islands for their home: they felt that nothing 
but a seal could stand such a climate. 

" Unalaska, July i^th. — I am perfectly swamped 
with work. The letters are piled up until I can see no 
end to them, and I feel dead beat. We came in late 
on the 1 2th, and when I saw the boat-load of mail-bags 
come off I knew what was ahead of me, and have strug- 
gled with pen and ink ever since, and yet do not see 
the end of it. I have seized the British steamer Co- 
quitlan and sent her to Sitka. I have no doubt the 
newspapers will make all sorts of a row about it, but 
that won't save her and her thirty thousand seal skins. 

334 




in 



-^ ^ 



u e 



A Supply Ship Seized 

The value of the prize is about six hundred thousand 
dollars, and will help the Government to pay damages 
if the arbitration goes against us. Captain Hooper, 
of the Corwin, carried out my instructions carefully and 
intelligently, and the result is a happy one. He found 
the Coquitlan at Port Etches, surrounded by thirty 
English sealers, and when he made the seizure all the 
Indians on the different schooners made for the shore, 
swearing that they were done with the sealing business. 
After a time they were induced to return on board, and 
the vessels put out for Victoria; so we are done with 
that lot, and the rest are so scared that I doubt if one 
of them will come into the sea. The Coquitlan had 
supplies for all the sealing fleet, and as they were cap- 
tured with the vessel, of course the sealers must go 
home for more before they can go on with their work, 
and before they can get back the season will be over. 
I am quite satisfied with it all, and hope the Secretary 
may be the same. 

" There has not been a sealer in the Bering Sea this 
season, and I am inclined to think they won't come. 

" It is amusing to know the ferocious reputation 
I am getting up here. They seem to think I am going 
to eat all the sealers I catch, and I am held up as a 
terror to the crews of all whalers and other merchant 
ships. The effect is good, but it makes me laugh when 
I hear about it. There is one coal ship here with a 
union crew, and I am afraid I shall have trouble with 
them. The captain has appealed to me, and, on looking 
into the matter, I find that they won't work unless 
they have coffee at nine in the morning. I asked if 
they did not want tea and toast in the afternoon, and 

335 



A Sailor's Loe 



£> 



told them that I would double iron the whole gang 
and put them on bread and water where the dogs 
wouldn't bite them, and if I heard another word from 
them I would stop the bread. The effect was good, 
and they are working very well. 

" Saturday, July i6th. — I gave myself a holiday to- 
day and spent it in the open air catching trout. It has 
been a gloriously clear day — a thing seldom seen in this 
country, but now I have to face double work to make 
up for it. I am run down and can not sleep, and the 
doctor urged me to take a rest. 

" July iStJi. — The Danube has come in from Vic- 
toria with coal and stores for the English ships, and I 
see, from the Canadian papers she brought, that they 
are giving me a scoring for the capture of the Co- 
quitlan. Well, we have the steamer, and Uncle Samuel 
is well ahead of the game. The idea of any one daring 
to execute our laws seems more than the Canucks 
can stand. 

" July ipth. — Something has happened, I don't 
know just w^hat; but the English captain is sending a 
ship at once to Victoria, and I have news that a sealer 
or two has come into the sea, and I am off after them. 
I don't know what may happen in the next month, but 
I shall keep my end up as well as I can. 

" At Sea, July 21st, 10 p. m. — Night before last, 
when the news w^as confirmed that a British sealer had 
come into the sea, I hurried out after her with two cut* 
ters, as soon as we could get steam, just at midnight, 
in the blackest fog I ever saw. One oflScer swears it 
was so dense that it slowed the vessel down running 
against it. All yesterday and part of to-day I have been 

\6 



jj"- 



Ugly Weather 

searching for the sealer, but without success. This 
afternoon we landed an officer and a dozen men, armed 
and rationed for twelve days, with a good sailing 
launch, to guard the only pass he can get out of, and 
later on we shall probably catch him. Now we are on 
our way to the Seal Islands to look up matters there — 
so we go, always on the jump. 

" Friday Night, Island of St. George. — This has been 
the devil's own day. I was called at half past three 
this morning by a message that a schooner was in sight, 
but when I reached the deck found that it was a whaling 
bark. But once awake I stayed up, having had about 
four hours' sleep. By noon it was blowing hard, and 
as thick as pea soup again, and in such weather we 
spent the day until 6 p. m., when we found this island 
and anchored with the sea breaking on the shore so 
heavily that no boat could land, and so we shall have 
to hang on here until morning to see what we can do. 
Just now the orderly comes to report that the officer 
of the deck says we are dragging anchor. The ship 
is most uneasy, and the seals are bellowing until I 
can't hear myself think. I must go on deck, where I 
shall probably spend most of the night looking after 
the ship. 

" Saturday Night, hdy 2^d. — I did spend most of 
last night on deck, and early this morning the sea ran 
down so that we could get a boat ashore with some 
mail; then we pulled out in another dense fog, and 
a fine day we had of it. However, one day up here is 
much like another — all fog and lookout. We certainly 
sha'n't get a foul bottom from lying still during these 
six months. 

337 



A Sailor's Log 

" Sunday, July 24tli. — We have seen the land oc- 
casionally to-day, or, rather, we have seen a white line 
of angry surf breaking on the rocks. No end of seals 
playing around and near the ship. They remind me 
more of a frolicking lot of school children than of any- 
thing else. I wish Russia had them all back again, and 
these blessed islands with their beastly fogs, too. We 
should probably have other nasty work to do, but noth- 
ing to equal this. Chile was worse, but there we had 
the possibility of a fight every day to make the 
time pass. 

" Unalaska, July 2yth. — Just out of a very bad gale, 
which has lasted since Sunday. Now I suppose I have 
raised the devil sure enough. The Rush found the 
British schooner Winifred, and I have seized her under 
our revenue laws, instead of under the modus vivcndi, 
and shall send her to Sitka on Monday. Of course, the 
Canadians will raise a howl, and it may be that our own 
people won't sustain me. But I am right, all the same, 
and shall stand to my guns. The reason I have done 
this is because the captain of the Winifred commanded 
the Borealis last year and raided the rookeries on St. 
Paul Island, killing four hundred seals. The year be- 
fore he commanded the Adele, raided the island, and 
killed three hundred and fifty seals. This year he trans- 
ferred cargo in one of our ports without license, which 
renders him liable to imprisonment and forfeiture of 
his vessel. For raiding he is liable to ten years in 
prison. If I turn him over to the English, nothing will 
be done to him for raiding, so I determined to send him 
in and let our courts have a shy at him. The British 
finally yielded, and the scaler Winifred is mine. Her 

33S 



Capture of the Winifred 

captain, the most noted pirate in Bering Sea, will go 
to Sitka in her, and I shall be surprised if he does not 
spend the next ten years of his life in the penitentiary. 

" We have also seized and sent to Sitka the Jane 
Gray, the American schooner we have seen before. In 
fact, we are raising considerable of a row, I am afraid, 
but we are stopping sealing in Bering Sea, which is 
what I was sent up here to do. 

" Friday Night, July 2pth. — No one who has not 
seized an English sealer under the guns of the English 
navy can know just how much writing that calls for — 
not to speak of the bluff — nor can guess what yesterday 
and to-day have been to me. I have convinced the 
senior EngHsh officer in Bering Sea that my course was 
the proper one, and he has so stated to me in his official 
letter on the subject; and now that it is all done with, 
I have fits of the shakes when I think of the volcano 
that was under us, and how close it was to the sur- 
face. A few more gray hairs in my head tell the 
story, and to-morrow I am taking the English officers 
out on a fishing picnic to show how friendly we are. 
'Tis a funny world we live in, and I seem to strike many 
of the sensational snags. Of course, I have had to 
write some sort of an account of all the business to the 
Secretary of the Navy; but I have made it very short, 
for the amount of writing and work has been greater 
than could be imagined, and in addition I have taken in 
four hundred tons of coal since we came in here. But 
I shall go fishing to-morrow, and be ready for more 
work the day after. The Albatross will leave for Sitka 
on Monday or Tuesday, towing the sealer, and then we 
shall put to sea and try to find some more of the gang 

339 



A Sailor's Log 

who have boasted in Victoria that ' no Yankee cruiser 
should ever overhaul them, for they had a strong Gov- 
ernment back of them.' 

*' We all play a pretty strong hand sometimes. It 
may be that we shall come to grief for it. I hope not. 

" J^^h 3^^^- — ^^^ ^'^^^ ^ glorious picnic yesterday, 
and such fishing as I had never dreamed of; but on re- 
turning I found that I had been stung on the hand by 
some sort of a beast which had given me a fist as large 
as SulUvan's. 

" Before leaving yesterday morning I had ordered 
the search of the American whaling bark Lydia, of 
San Francisco, suspecting that she had seal skins on 
board. On my return, the searching ofBcer reported 
a barrel found marked ' Salmon,' and on opening it dis- 
covered fourteen salted fur-seal skins. The captain had 
tried to put them on board the whaling bark North- 
ern Light, for 'Frisco, at midnight the night before, 
but our men were too much for him. Of course, we 
seized the Lydia, and have sent her to Sitka, which will 
raise a howl in the 'Frisco papers, and cause me to be 
called all the scoundrels on earth; but I don't care a 
sou. These whalers are a set of infernal pirates, and I 
shall run in some more of them if they give me the 
chance. 

" The Adams came in this morning and reports the 
capture of the English schooner Mountain Chief, of 
Victoria, caught sealing in Bering Sea. Nelson put 
an officer and men on board of her, and she will be in 
to-morrow, when I shall turn her over to the senior 
British officer and ask him to keep her out of the sea 
in future, or wc will blow the stuffing out of her. 

340 



A Nest of Pirates 

*' At Sea, Tivo Hundred Miles Northzvest of St. Paul 
Island, August 6th. — As soon as our last mail closed we 
put to sea in a dense fog for the False Pass, to pick 
up the landing party, which had been on shore thirteen 
days. The distance was one hundred and forty-seven 
miles, and we ran it up without seeing anything but 
the fog, slowed the engines, got a cast of the lead, 
and in a few minutes made out breakers ahead and close 
aboard. I rang her full speed astern, and let go the an- 
chor, and when the fog cleared in the night we were 
just one mile out of position, which I call the best 
piece of navigating I ever heard of, and I give the 
full credit for it to Conway, our navigating officer. 

"At 10 A.M.. day before yesterday the landing 
party got off the beach, through the heavy surf, and 
reported on board in excellent condition and having 
done good service. They had captured a number of 
small native boats engaged in sea-otter hunting 
against the law, taken from them their skins and guns, 
and released them with a warning. On the day of 
our arrival they had had a brush with a small steamer, 
which got away from them in the fog after they had 
fired five hundred rounds into her from their rifles 
and thought they surely had her. The whole place 
is a perfect nest of pirates; but I have not the time 
to treat them as they deserve, as we must keep con- 
stantly moving in order to prevent our Canadian friends 
from poaching in Bering Sea. The whole condition 
of Alaska, so far as the execution of the law is con- 
cerned, is a disgrace to our Government, and I shall 
so report ; but it will not do any good. 

" We are now on a trip of two thousand miles, cov- 
341 



A Sailors Log 

ering the sea as perfectly as I can, but so far have seen 
nothing Hke a sealer. To-day we have seen more seals 
than during all the rest of our cruising away from the 
islands. They all seem to be feeding, and are probably 
the cows who have young on the islands. The water 
has been covered with a peculiar white, greasy-looking 
substance, and birds of all kinds are about in thousands 
— all of which may or may not have to do with the 
presence of the seals. There is much yet to be learned 
about these animals, and we are not going about it 
in the best way. The Government should send some 
hard-headed chap, with good common sense and no 
theories, to study them. One day, some time ago, a 
naturalist, sent by the Government, came to me and 
reported two dead cow seals on the beach. This looked 
as if there had been a raid on the rookeries, and I felt 
dreadfully. The man was closely questioned, and said 
he had examined them for sex, etc. Stanley Brown 
found the two animals, dead as reported, but they 
proved to be sea-lion pups — about as much like a seal 
as a black lamb is like a pig. So goes the Government 
money. 

" August yth. — I seem to do nothing these days but 
cruise around in the fog, which is black to-day. Even 
the seals seem to have had enough of it, and have dis- 
appeared. We shall get down to Attn in a couple of 
days, and if we find no sealers there I shall feel per- 
fectly satisfied that there are none in Bering Sea; in 
fact, I am satisfied now that there are not enough to 
kill to any extent." 



342 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

CRUISING IN HIGH LATITUDES 

" August nth. — We have to-day been to Uncle 
Sam's western limit, and I do not think much of it as 
a garden spot, though it was very pretty — what we 
could see of it through fog and clouds — beautiful 
green mountains above the nasty, rocky coast, streaked 
with snow and blurred over with fleecy clouds, and half 
veiled in fog. For the last three days we have had 
better weather — not a gale of wind in all that time, and 
no really bad fogs — most of the time rather clear, with 
smooth water. 

" At daylight this morning we made Attu In a 
bank of fog, and had to lay off and on for two hours 
before we could make out anything to run for. About 
eight o'clock we ' caught on,' as the boys say, and soon 
had a boat on shore to learn if any sealers had been 
about. None had been seen, so we kept away to the 
east again and are now running for Unalaska, where 
we should be on the 13th. Up to to-day we have made, 
on this trip, thirteen hundred miles, and not a sign 
of a poacher, which leads to the conclusion that they 
are pretty scarce hereabouts. I shall be powerful glad 
when it is all over and we can see some blue sky and 
water again in place of this everlasting gray, which I 
23 343 



A Sailor's Log 

am sure is hurting the eyes of all hands as well as our 
spirits. The little ship begins to show the effects of 
her twenty-five thousand miles since last October in 
the way of leaky tubes, and we shall have to lay up ten 
days to get things in first-class shape again before our 
next trip. If we had good coal we could do the work 
without the least bother, but the Department in its 
wisdom (?) has sent out cheap, nasty Nanaimo coal, 
which hurts everything — including my temper. 

''Friday, August 12th. — We have been spinning 
along to-day, without the least trouble, at a good fast 
rate, and if nothing unforeseen happens we shall be 
at Iluiluik to-morrow before noon. We have to-day 
seen the sun set for the first time in Bering Sea, and it 
was a strange and beautiful sight. Maybe the sky was 
the same blue it used to be, but I had not seen it for 
so long it was very delightful to look at. Such a relief 
from the gray we have had for three months! Just 
before the sun set the fog lifted, and we saw a beautiful 
snow-streaked peak eighty-five miles away. It has 
been a wonderful day for this sea, and I fear we shall 
not have many more such. The orderly just comes 
to say it is very thick on deck, and that the officer of 
the watch wants me, so I will go and take my Scotch- 
mist bath. 

" Dutch Harbour, Unalaska, August i6th. — I have 
had no time to write since we came in here, because 
of the vast amount of work on my hands; but now I 
begin to see daylight through it, and also see an end 
to our stay in Bering Sea. We came in here at noon 
on the 13th, and found no ships except the two Eng- 
lishmen, who are always in port. The vessel that 

344 



Good Shooting 

our landing party fired on at False Pass proves to be 
the American steam schooner Polar Bear, which put in 
here for medical aid, her chief engineer having a bullet 
through his forearm. The vessel was riddled with 
bullets fore and aft, showing that our boys shot pretty 
straight. The captain, of course, vows that he was 
fired on without provocation, and I have no doubt the 
newspapers will give me no end of a blackguarding 
about it. None of the Polar Bear's crew can explain 
why they neither showed their colours, nor answered 
the hail, nor stopped when fired on, except that they 
had a proper ' funk ' on, and ran below and hid them- 
selves. 

" On the morning of the 14th the Danube came 
in, bringing a large mail, and I have been so full of 
official reports that I can not think coherently of any- 
thing else. The Secretary sends me two long tele- 
grams, neither of which has one word of reference to 
my actions up here, approval or otherwise. 

" August lyth. — To-day Captain Parr, of the Mel- 
pomene, came for me to go fishing. The sport was 
such as one will only see in this region, I imagine — 
salmon-trout by the hundred, and the salmon so thick 
that every few minutes we had one hooked, sometimes 
in the mouth, but more often in the fins or stomach. 
The river was so crowded with them that we could 
have crossed on the fishes' backs if they had not been 
so slippery. I have often heard the stories of how these 
creatures crowd themselves to death in the shoal 
waters, and now I have seen it for myself. There were 
thousands of them pushing and wriggling up stream, 
where the water was only a few inches deep, until they 

345 



A Sailor's Log 

were absolutely forced out on the dry ground, and 
there lay dead in heaps until the air was foul with the 
stench. When I came home the Ranger and the Mohi- 
can had arrived, and now, near midnight, I am just 
through with their captains and their numerous re- 
ports. All have been busily cruising, and no one has 
seen a sealer. I am convinced that we have captured 
the only ones that have come in to the sea. 

*' Friday, August ipth. — We had a jolly dinner in 
the wardroom last night — pork and beans the piece de 
resistance. It blew a nasty southeast gale all day, and 
rained in true Alaska style, but the lads were glad to 
have me at their table, and the * manner of them ' took 
away all the discomfort of the southeaster. Captain 
Hooper, of the Corwin, was in the party, and proved a 
jolly companion. As we sat over our cofifee and cigars, 
with the wind roaring and the rain pelting down, 
there came the flash of a signal outside; presently the 
Adams came pounding in against the sea, and, as Nel- 
son came over the side in his dripping sou'wester, our 
wardroom party broke up, and we three commanding 
of^cers retired to my cabin to learn the news. ' Noth- 
ing in the shape of a sealer,' said Nelson, ' but plenty of 
wind, and as thick as pea soup.' The old chap was 
much cut up when I told him the orders had come that 
he had to stay in Bering Sea until December ist, but 
he took it like the good seaman he is, and, after talk- 
ing matters over, went to his ship apparently content. 
Hooper remained with me all night rather than face 
the gale for a mile or so. 

" The Adams has something wrong with one of her 
bottom valves, and to-day our divers have been under 

346 



Arctic Fruits 

her and made it right; but we are all more or less 
lame ducks from the miserable coal we have had to 
use. The Mohican and Ranger will not be able to 
cruise for four or five days, and I doubt if the York- 
town can get away for a week; but it fortunately 
makes little difiference— there are no sealers to catch. 
They are scared stiff and couldn't be paid to come in— 
that is, not one of any size or value. Of course, small 
things, like those we have taken, will or may take 
the chance, because the vessels are not w^orth a thou- 
sand dollars, and, if they are lucky, they make six or 
eight thousand in as many days. 

" To-day I have spent among the ships, hurrying 
the work and getting things in order as fast as I can. 
To-night I have spent several hours working on my 
reports to the Secretary, of which I have three in hand 
—all interesting and full of information. I hope he may 
publish them in full, for they show what we have been 
really doing. 

"August 20th.--A cold, raw day, most of it spent 
over my reports and looking after our engines. The 
other ships are coaling as fast as they can, and in a 
few days we shall all be cruising again. The summer, 
if It can be so called, is over for us, and from now on 
It will grow colder and more boisterous. Berries and 
mosquitoes are now at their best. The salmon berries 
are only a large, watery kind of raspberry, but better 
than nothing, which is more than can be said of the 
whortleberries— they are blue and sour and full of seeds, 
and taste like a pinch of sour sand. This country pro- 
duces nothing else in the way of fruit, but grows lettuce 
and radishes and very good turnips. I think they could 

347 



A Sailor's Log 

grow a lot of things, but the natives only care for 
seal meat and dried, half-rotted fish. The few white 
people live on canned food almost entirely. 

'* Sunday, August 21st. — I have a very bad foot 
to-day, but must go on with my work, sick or well. 
The weather begins to tell on the men in the way of 
rheumatism, and some are pretty bad. The ships have 
been kept so ' on the jump ' that all hands are get- 
ting tired; the duty is not so easy as it was, and the 
engines have a way of protesting that the severest or- 
ders will not affect. The Adams got out to-day, and 
I am driving the Mohican and the Ranger all they will 
stand. The Yorktown will be ready as soon as we can 
get to the coal pile, and in the meantime we are doing 
our target work as well as we can. 

" Tuesday, August 2^d. — A howling gale to-night, 
with much cold rain, and no doubt the Adams and 
Ranger are catching it in good shape. The coaling 
facilities are so miserable here that we can coal but 
one ship at a time, and that very slowly; otherwise the 
little white ship would be fighting the short chop-sea 
to-night instead of surging at her chains as she is 
doing. We shall be off before many days, and as 
gales are the rule now, I have no doubt we shall be 
sufficiently amused. 

" Unalaska, August 26th. — Here we are, still in port 
when we should be at sea, but I am glad we are not, 
for the usual August gale has us in its grip, and we 
should be very wet outside. W'c are tied up to a coal 
wharf in Dutch Harbour, perfectly landlocked, and 
yet the sea finds its way in, and we are jumping and 
charging, to the great danger of the wharf. The Adams 

348 



Gun Accidents 

is dragging around the harbour in fine style, but as she 
has steam up I do not worry about her. In fact, I have 
learned not to worry about anything; but I shall be 
powerful glad when we are through with Bering Sea. 
The Adams came in two days ago, after picking up 
her landing party at the False Pass (where our men 
had been), and reports that the natives refuse to shoot 
any more sea otter for fear the Yorktown will come 
back and catch them. So we really did some good up 
there. It is a nest of pirates, and needs a firm hand 
and a lot of ball cartridge before the law will be re- 
spected. 

" A schooner came running in before the gale yes- 
terday, showing American colours, and I was afraid we 
had another prize on our hands; but she proved to be 
a fisherman from the outside in search of medical aid 
for one of her men, who had accidentally fired a charge 
of shot into his instep. The accident happened eight 
days ago, and the man is in a deplorable condition. 
Of course, the foot had to come off, and the chances 
are he will die. Day before yesterday our doctor was 
called on shore to attend a man who had shot his hand 
to pieces. He was going to shoot a sheep, and found 
the cartridge stuck in his Winchester. As he could not 
force it home he struck it with a hammer to drive it in. 
They have not found the hammer yet, nor some por- 
tions of his hand. 

" The coaling arrangements here are causing us 
much delay and annoyance. When the coal was taken 
from ships we did very well; but now it has all been 
landed and piled in the open, so that it is soaking wet. 
I stopped taking it in this morning, as the rain was 

349 



A Sailor's Log 

coming down in torrents and the coal bunkers were 
being flooded. I shall hold on here until the rain ceases 
before I take any more. The coal is of the poorest 
kind, and absorbs moisture like a sponge, so that in its 
present condition we are paying for over ten per cent 
of water. Of course, this pleases the contractor to 
death, and it would serve the Equipment Bureau 
rightly if I went on and paid for a hundred or two tons 
of water. But I don't want the bother of taking it in 
and pumping it out. 

" The Daphne is ordered to Esquimault on her way 
home — sails on Monday; the Melpomene starts on a 
cruise as soon as this gale lets up, and will go to Victoria 
on September 14th, after which I shall have to look 
after the whole business. There is really no reason 
why we should not all clear out now, for there are no 
sealers in Bering Sea and it is too late for any more 
to come, and we are spending two thousand dollars per 
day for nothing; but our orders say we must stay, 
and stay it is. As I have the finest command in the 
navy at present, I ought to be satisfied. 

" The wardroom of the Mohican gave me a dinner 
day before yesterday, which I enjoyed very much. 
There is a fine body of young officers aboard her. We 
had a good dinner for any place — soup. Little Neck 
clams, salmon trout, and roast ptarmigan are some of 
the things I remember. Everything except the soup 
was provided by the sportsmen of the mess. 

" Aiigust 28th. — I dined yesterday on board her 
Majesty's steamer Daphne with Captain Wood, R. N., 
for whom I have great respect and esteem, and did not 
get home until midnight. The gale let up yesterday, 

350 



Tardy Approval 

and to-morrow I shall finish coaling and put to sea 
for a short cruise only, as we must be back here for the 
mails due after the ist of September, and get the Cor- 
win off on the loth for Sitka. 

" Unalaska, September 6th. — We started to sea on 
August 28th, but had only got outside when we made 
out the mail steamer coming in, so we returned for 
the night. 

" After we had our mail we put to sea again the 
following morning, for a cruise to the westward, and 
by night were driving into a head sea that made things 
wet on board. We were in a nasty southwest gale, 
with a bad, heavy, breaking sea, and continued in it 
until we ran in here last night, and found the 'Frisco 
mail steamer in. The Department wires me that it ap- 
proves of my doings up here, and also that the State 
Department commends me for something — I don't 
make out just what. This is the first word of approval 
or disapproval I have had from them since I left New 
York. 

" September yth. — I did not get over the shaking up 
we had in the last ten days, until yesterday, and now 
am pressed with official mail, added to the strain of 
constant work and worry, without proper assistants 
to relieve me of details. During the time of this last 
cruise I could not once write in my cabin; but we did 
catch a British sealer and brought him in safely, and 
will send him to Sitka by the Corwin as soon as the 
gale ceases. 

" On Friday, when we were away off to the west- 
ward, steering north in a very heavy sea, the feeling 
suddenly came over me that we must steer east, and 

351 



A Sailor's Log 

the impression was so strong that I sent for the navi- 
gator and told him of it, and said unless it left me we 
would steer east at noon. He was somewhat doubtful 
of what the sea would do with us on that course, but 
we steered it all the same. I felt convinced that some- 
thing would come of it, and the sequel is extraordinary. 
On Sunday at noon I was on deck, as I usually am at 
sea, when the lookout aloft reported, ' Sail ho! ' and in a 
few minutes I made out a schooner, which proved to 
be the Henrietta, of Victoria, British Columbia, with 
four hundred and twenty seal skins on board, I had 
not changed the course at all, and yet we ran right 
up to her. It was curious. When we got near enough 
to throw a line on board the schooner, the sea was so 
nasty that her captain evidently thought we w^ould 
not dare to lower a boat to send men on board of 
her, so he refused to make the line fast. We did 
lower the boat, however, much to his surprise, and in 
fifteen minutes an ofiPicer and six armed men had pos- 
session of his vessel, and his crew and all their arms 
were on board the Yorktown. The way the work was 
done and the boat handled was most gratifying to 
me — never saw anything better done. For some min- 
utes my heart was in my throat for fear the boat would 
swamp; but she did her work, came back, and was 
hoisted without a scratch on her paint. Every man in 
the ship had his wits about him, and did what was 
ordered promptly and efficiently. 

" Sunday night we kept the schooner in company, 
and on Monday, the sea having run down somewhat, 
we took her in tow and brought her here. She will 
be condemned and sold in Alaska for violating our 

352 



Concealed Rocks 

revenue laws, and the Canadians will note another 
* outrage ' on their commerce. 

" Upon our arrival I found the Oscar and Hattie, 
British schooner of Victoria, British Columbia, had 
been captured by the Mohican out at Attn Island, and 
sent in with a prize crew to report to me. She will 
come under the modus vivendi, and as soon as Captain 
Parr comes in with the Melpomene I shall turn her 
over to his tender mercies. We are really making it 
hot for the Canadian sealing fraternity. The gale in 
which we had been cruising calmed down somewhat 
on Monday, but yesterday the barometer began fall- 
ing rapidly; last night a fearful southeast storm broke 
out on us, and to-day I have not been able to get a 
boat on shore. Of course, sealing is done for this year, 
as the weather from now on will probably be such that 
no seal can be taken; but we shall keep things on the 
jump until we start for home, and shall catch any ves- 
sel that breaks the law. It is the general opinion 
hereabouts that we have captured every vessel that has 
come into the sea. 

" Friday, September pth. — I was occupied every 
minute yesterday, until midnight. I was starting the 
Corwin home, via Sitka, with the Henrietta in tow, as 
soon as my despatches could be completed, only wait- 
ing for the gale to let up. At six I had finished, and 
went to dine with Captain Hooper before he sailed. 
Just as dinner was over a vessel was reported coming 
in, and at 9.30 the Mohican anchored, and Johnson and 
I talked until midnight. He had struck another rock, 
out at Attn this time. His ship was not injured, still 
he was worried over it. All things considered, the 

353 



A Sailor's Log 

Department has been lucky not to lose a ship this 
summer. We have cruised straight through, night 
and day, fog or clear, without decent charts, and not 
a single buoy or light in the entire country. 

" The Corwin left at four this morning. I was 
sorry to see her go, for it is the first break in the fleet 
I have commanded, and I may never have such a com- 
mand again. She takes a long report to the Secretary, 
which I should be glad to have him publish, and one 
to the State Department, which contains more infor- 
mation on seals and the Seal Islands than has ever been 
given in one report. I have been working all summer 
for three Departments — Navy, State, and Treasury — 
and I have had to make reports to each of them, which 
has vastly increased my labours; but I am thankful 
to say it is all now rapidly coming to an end, and in 
twenty days more we shall be ready to sail for home. 

" Monday Night, September 12th. — We have im- 
proved the time to-day by having target practice; but 
the water was smooth, and the targets had no show 
against our six-inch guns, two of them being shot to 
pieces and finally utterly destroyed. The practice was 
excellent. To-night at eight, dark as a pocket and 
raining, I suddenly raised the alarm, * Torpedo boats! * 
and turned the search lights on a target, which I had 
previously placed, and in two minutes we had fired six- 
teen hundred and ninety shots from small arms and 
machine guns, and the target was a sieve. We must 
have presented a beautiful sight from the outside, for 
we were a blaze of fire, fore and aft. If it had been a 
real torpedo boat coming at us, the man in command 
would have required a large head not to flinch, and a 

354 



How the Russians did it 

very small one not to have it shot off. There is not a 
place on the target as large as a man's hand unmarked 
by shot. 

" To-morrow, weather permitting, we shall go out- 
side and have a try at a target, running past it at high 
speed. 

" September ijth. — The Melpomene has come in 
and is dumping in the coal as fast as she can, and hopes 
to get off for Esquimault day after to-morrow. Cap- 
tain Parr will dine with me to-morrow, when he surely 
won't have much to eat and less to drink, as I am 
almost entirely out of all sorts of provisions. 

" During his cruise he has been over to the Rus- 
sian coast and back through Bering Sea and saw not 
a single sealer. The Russians have captured six 
schooners — one American and five Canadian — all of 
which have been condemned and burned. They have 
a good way of treating such chaps over there: the 
skins were taken out and sent to San Francisco to be 
sold for the benefit of the Russian Government, and 
the prisoners released, to find their way home as best 
they could. Next year the Russians mean to have 
more cruisers and really put a stop to sealing on that 
side, and then the whole gang will go for Bering Sea, 
and our commander commanding may have a real lively 
time of it. It may be that by that time the Depart- 
ment will awake to the fact that this is the command 
for an admiral or a commodore, at least, and send one 
up here. 

" In a recent letter from Admiral Hotham, he says 
that the Coquitlan episode amused him very much. 
First, the Canadians wanted war — demanded that he 

355 



A Sailor's Log 

should go to Sitka with the Warspite and tow the 
Coquitlan back to Victoria. When he would not do 
this, they accused him of having given me their place 
of rendezvous; but about this time, he says, the small- 
pox came along and the Canadians were so scared that 
he heard no more about war. 

" Now, the smallpox having let up, they are after 
him again. They certainly are a miserable lot, and the 
admiral says they surely love me. When they hear 
of the Henrietta going to Sitka they will probably 
wish to embrace me. The admiral has been on the 
rocks with his flagship, which worries him, but he was 
in no way to blame for it — nor was any one else, except 
the people who made the charts and neglected to put 
the rocks on them. 

" If I get my ship to 'Frisco without more damage 
I shall consider myself lucky. I do not expect to be de- 
tained here after the ist of October, unless I hear of 
sealers being about, in which case I shall stay until I 
catch them, if I freeze for it; but I don't think they 
want to monkey with the Yorktown. 

" Uualaska, September i6th. — The Melpomene left 
yesterday morning, the Mohican goes to-morrow, and 
the Elsie, a small mail steamer, the day after; but I 
hope to be in 'Frisco before either of them. 

" !My dinner to Captain Parr and the Canadian 
commissioners went ofT well. We had salmon, ptar- 
migan, and wild ducks among other things. Parr 
wrote me a letter before he left, which is a model of 
official sweetness, and in reply I applied sugar most 
artistically. And so Bering Sea has been freed of seal 
poachers, for one year anyhow, and no war has come 

356 



A Hurricane 

of it. The summer has been one of hard work and 
much anxiety to me, and I hope to have some rest 
after it. 

" September 22d. — Since I last wrote I have been 
* down to the sea in a ship,' and, Hke all men who do 
that in a small ship, I have paid for it. On the 17th we 
put out in the beginning of a gale, as it proved, and 
when we came in this evening and dropped anchor I 
could for the first time sit down to write. When we 
left the harbour we found a fearful sea running, and 
it grew steadily worse until we came in to-day, when it 
blew with hurricane force; but through it all the little 
white ship grows better and better, and I am proud 
of her, in spite of the bad name she had when I took 
command of her. On this last cruise we ran about one 
hundred and fifty miles to the west of the Seal Islands, 
toward the Russian coast, when the sea was so tre- 
mendous that we were compelled to lay to for twelve 
hours, and as soon as we could we cruised off and on, 
looking for schooners, but none came in sight. 

" Day before yesterday, still blowing a gale, we 
started back this way, intending to stop at the islands, 
but when we came near them the sea was breaking so 
viciously that we came on, and to-day saw the worst 
weather we have had since leaving New York. When 
we were about fifteen miles from Unalaska the wind 
attained hurricane force, blowing directly from the 
volcano of Makuslin, and we had a picnic. We were 
steaming twelve knots at the time, and tried to show 
some little canvas to steady the ship; but a piece as 
large as a tablecloth went like smoke, and we had to 
depend on the steam. The water was picked up in 

357 



A Sailors Log 

patches of twenty acres and carried off in spray two 
or three hundred feet, and the force of the wind was 
so great that the surface of the sea was cut down as 
level as a floor, and foaming white; but we made it 
somehow, and here we are safely at anchor, and the 
Bering Sea work is done, for this season at least. 

" I am willing to admit that Bering Sea is the worst 
patch of water it has ever been my lot to tackle, and 
I sincerely hope I may never have it to do again. I 
find the Bear is in from the Arctic, and as she is to 
remain until December ist, we are to give passage to 
the wife of Captain Healey and one other person. I 
shall give up my cabin to them, while I live as best I 
can. From now until the ist of October I shall be 
hard at work getting ready for our trip down, and 
when once we start I shall make things ' hum ' if I can. 
I hope to sleep to-night for the first time in many 
nights. 

" Thursday Night. — I have had a busy day of it, and 
wound up with dinner on board the Bear, and a very 
good dinner it was. Captain and Mrs. Healey, Cap- 
tains Nelson and Nicols, Mr. Ware and son, who, with 
Mrs. Healey, are to be my guests to 'Frisco, composed 
the party. Ware and his son have this summer landed 
a mining party on the Yukon River, and are on their 
way home to Chicago. The Adams gets off to-mor- 
row^ and I shall not see her again, and in a week my 
command in Bering Sea will be a thing of the past. 
The summer seems short to look back at, but how the 
days drag now as the end approaches! If we get to 
'Frisco, as I hope, on October 8th, we shall have 
steamed a little over twenty-eight thousand miles in 

358 



Natural History 

one year. Certainly no one can say I have not been 
to sea sure enough, 

" Friday Night. — One week more of Bering Sea and 
I am done with it for all time, I hope. It is perhaps 
this thought that makes these volcanic humps look 
very beautiful just now in the magnificence of their 
early winter coloring. This morning the mountains 
were clearly outlined against a cold steel-blue sky, the 
line of new-fallen snow, sharp and distinct, about one 
third of the way down the peaks, and the rest golden- 
red and green-brown, with here and there in the val- 
leys, sheltered from the cold winds, a bright emerald- 
green spot. The Adams got away on time at nine 
o'clock, and one hour after the Rush came in, bringing 
the first of a southeast gale with her. Later on it came 
harder, and now it is nasty and cold enough to suit even 
the bears. 

" Captain Coulson reports dreadful weather during 
the last ten days — ^just such, in fact, as I have had dur- 
ing our cruising. He is an old hand up here, and says 
he never knew it so bad before so early in the season, 
September usually being a fairly good month. No 
sealers have been seen, and only a few seals away from 
the islands, where the old ones are now busily engaged 
teaching the youngsters to swim and get ready for their 
long sea trip. It is a curious thing in Nature that 
these animals, which may be said to live entirely in the 
water, can neither beget nor bear their young except 
on land, and that the young one would instantly drown 
if put in the water within several weeks after its birth. 
A young seal is much more helpless in the water than 
a young kitten. But this is not more strange than that 
24 359 



A Sailor's Log 

the mosquito, which is so plainly meant to live by suck- 
ing blood through its bill from a thin-skinned, hairless 
animal, is most abundant in the swamps of the tropics 
and the frozen regions of the Arctic, where no such 
animals can exist; nor why the leech, which lives by 
sucking warm blood, is found only in swamps where 
Nature forbids warm-blooded life. 

" Saturday Night. — Finding this morning not too 
bad, we got under way and went outside for some 
great-gun target practice, of which we have not had 
time to do as much as I should have liked this summer. 
We found a moderate sea with squalls of rain and much 
wind. The target was soon placed, and running the 
ship by it at full speed, the six-inch guns opened in a 
way much to my satisfaction. Every shot was excellent 
until the eighth, which demolished the target and put 
an end to the practice. 

" I have just now finished my table of distances 
made by the fleet under my command. The distance 
covered by all ships since leaving Port Townsend is 
sixty-one thousand four hundred and twenty-six miles, 
of which thirty-eight thousand three hundred and 
ninety-eight miles have been in Bering Sea. Nothing 
approaching this work has been done since the civil 
war closed, and I hope the Department may be as well 
pleased with it as I am. 

" September ^oth. — To-night is the end of this, 
unless the gale now blowing is too much for us to- 
morrow morning. Bering Sea has been policed in 
proper shape, according to my thinking; the job is 
finished, and to-morrow we are homeward bound. A 
happy lot we surely are. There is not a drop of any- 

360 



Return to San Francisco 

thing to drink on board, not even a bottle of beer, so 
we are all very quiet and subdued in our happiness, 
and only hoping for a decent day to get well clear of 
these miserable islands. Yesterday daylight found us 
smothered in snow and hail, and since then it has 
snowed in real arctic style. Indeed, I never saw a 
snowstorm before — had no idea what one was like. I 
know now, and really don't care for any further knowl- 
edge on the subject. I know that I shall have to spend 
much of the next week on the bridge, but I don't care 
so long as we can make any way toward 'Frisco. 

" October loth, 'Frisco. — Just in, after awful trip 
down with gales and hurricanes all the way from Una- 
laska — the worst I have ever known. We were abso- 
lutely under water for five days, and I lived in wet 
clothing. Finally came a hurricane in which we were 
hove to for twenty hours." 

I have made these extracts from my journal at 
length, since they give a much better idea of my life 
and doings in Bering Sea than I could possibly write 
now. 



361 



CHAPTER XXIX 

IN COMMAND OF THE NEW YORK 

The Secretary of the Navy and the President gave 
hearty approval for my successful work, and the Presi- 
dent was good enough to mention me by name in his 
message to Congress. Few officers have had this 
honour in time of peace. 

It had seemed to me from the time I first began to 
study the seal question that the easiest solution was 
for the United States to declare the seals a herd of 
domesticated wild animals owned by us and breeding 
on our territory alone, and after this declaration to 
state our intention to follow and protect them, no 
matter where they went. This would, at least, have 
brought the question to an issue, and a settlement 
would have had to follow very shortly. The theory of 
a closed sea did not appear to me consistent with our 
action in reference to the fisheries on the Eastern coast, 
where we denied to England the same contention. 

A few weeks after my return from the Arctic I was 
detached from the Yorktown at San Francisco and 
ordered as naval secretary of the Lighthouse Board, 
When I reached Washington I found that the zealous 
watchdogs of the Treasury had checked against my 
pay the sum of three dollars and sixty-eight cents, be- 

362 



The Lighthouse Board 

cause I had taken five days to reach my home instead 
of four. The checkage was the difference between duty 
and leave pay for one day. I had turned into the 
Treasury something over six hundred thousand dollars 
during the summer, and felt that this last contribution 
might have been spared me. 

When the seal question again came up for consid- 
eration the conference was composed of very distin- 
guished men — Secretaries Gresham and Carlisle on our 
side and Sir Julian Pauncefote and Sir Charles Tupper 
representing the Canadian side. I was requested to be 
present, and was very glad afterward to know that my 
practical knowledge of the subject had been of value 
in arranging the rules governing the taking of seals 
under the Paris award. 

My second tour of duty as naval secretary of the 
Lighthouse Board was made more pleasant by the oc- 
casional trips of President Cleveland and members of 
his Cabinet, in one or the other of the lighthouse 
steamers which could be conveniently used for the pur- 
pose. I was usually with the President when health or 
recreation made such trips desirable, and took charge 
of all preparations and supplies. They were never 
allowed to interfere in the least with Government work, 
nor did they involve the expenditure of one cent of 
public money. They did, however, enable both him 
and the Secretary of the Treasury, who is President 
of the Lighthouse Board, to see the practical working 
of the service by contact with the keepers and inspec- 
tion of the stations, and in this way were of great 
benefit. Many desirable changes can be traced to these 
outings, and it can be safely asserted that no more 

363 



A Sailor's Log 

innocent or enjoyable form of recreation could have 
been devised. 

During the summer of 1894 the fine, new, armoured 
cruiser New York was in need of a captain, and the 
Secretary of the Navy did me the honour to give me 
the command. I had been promoted to the grade of 
captain after my return from the Yorktown, and was 
one of the juniors on the list; hence the compliment 
was all the more marked. I was at Gray Gables mak- 
ing a visit to Mr. Cleveland when the time came for me 
to report, and he was good enough to take me down 
to New York with him and put me on board. 

The New York was our only armoured cruiser, and 
at that time the flagship of Admiral Richard W. Meade, 
commanding the North Atlantic squadron. A few 
days after I had relieved Captain " Jack " Philip, the 
Department gave me additional orders as chief of staff 
to the admiral, in which capacity I served until he was 
relieved at his own request and placed on the retired 
list. 

Admiral Meade was an able, courageous officer, 
and during our winter's cruise with the squadron, con- 
sisting of the New York (flagship), Columbia, Min- 
neapolis, Cincinnati, and Raleigh, gave us admirable 
and sytematic drill. Modern methods and appliances 
were used in a modern way — torpedoes were run under 
service conditions, and search lights used to their ut- 
most capacity as a means of communicating between 
vessels at sea at long distances from each other. The 
tone of the squadron was excellent, owing in a large 
measure to the personal character and bearing of the 
admiral. The war between Cuba and Spain, or, more 

364 



Fire at Port-of-Spain 

properly speaking, the revolution in Cuba, was in its 
infancy, and the admiral was outspoken in his friend- 
ship for the Cubans — so much so that the Department 
would not allow him to enter a Cuban port for fear 
that his violent temper might involve us in trouble. 
This was a source of much concern to him, and was 
the beginning of the trouble that resulted seriously 
to him later on. Upon our arrival at New York, early 
in May, I was directed to fit out for a short cruise to 
Europe to join in the ceremonies attending the opening 
of the Kiel Canal. 

Probably the most important work of Admiral 
Meade's squadron during the West India cruise was 
saving the city of Port-of-Spain in Trinidad. While we 
were anchored there a fire broke out in the city, which, 
owing to the strong trade wind blowing, soon made 
great headway, and would have destroyed the entire 
place had it not been for the work done by our men. 
The squadron was anchored five or six miles from the 
shore, and as the admiral refused to land men until 
officially asked to do so, much property was lost that 
otherwise might have been saved. When, however, the 
request for assistance came, everything was ready, and 
the fire brigades of the vessels were sent in at once tmder 
command of the executive officer of the New York. 
After four hours' very hard and dangerous work the city 
was saved, and the men returned on board. I was sure 
from the first that the fire was of incendiary origin, and 
felt that a company of marines with plenty of car- 
tridges would be needed before the job was finished; 
but the admiral hesitated to land armed men in a for- 
eign state. After some discussion he told me that I 

365 



A Sailor's Log 

might do as I pleased, but advised me not to take the 
responsibility of doing as I proposed. Without more 
delay I sent in forty men with two officers and plenty 
of ammunition. The moment they landed they were 
deployed through the threatened district, and soon 
put an end to the looting that was going on. Our men 
came back at midnight loaded with all sorts of things 
that had been given them by the people on shore, 
among others twenty young goats, which I promptly 
sent back in the morning. The Governor wrote a 
handsome letter of thanks, commending the excellent 
conduct of our men under most trying circumstances. 
He was particularly grateful for the marines, whose 
bayonets proved just the thing required. 

The work of preparing for the Kiel cruise was 
rapidly done, and by May i8th I was ready for sea. 
Arrangements had been made for electrically illuminat- 
ing the ship, and as she was the first of our new ves- 
sels to be shown abroad, and the occasion a notable 
one, it was decided to give as fine a display of fireworks 
as possible. I sent for the expert who attends to such 
matters in and about New York, and with him ar- 
ranged the scheme that afterward astonished Kiel and 
the ships there assembled. When the various set 
pieces and the supply of bombs and rockets began to 
arrive I was at a loss to know what to do with them. 
After we had filled every available space below, there 
still remained a lot to be looked after. I had the boxes, 
which were very large, securely lashed on deck, covered 
with canvas, and painted. They were a source of great 
uneasiness to me until they were finally burned. If they 
got wet, of course they would not go ofT when the 

366 



Off for Kiel 

time came, and if some careless man dropped a spark 
from his pipe on them they would go off much too 
soon. Fortunately, I had no accident with them, and 
was well pleased when I saw the last of them. 

The U. S. S. Columbia was also fitting out for 
Kiel, and was expected to beat us badly in the race 
across. My journal has the following: 

" May 22, i8q5, at Sea, off the Banks. — We got 
away on the stroke of twelve on Saturday in a most 
successful way, and apparently to the entire satisfaction 
of the navy-yard ofBcials, who waved cordially to me as 
we straightened down the river. The mud bank tried 
to stop us, but I had said we would go at noon, and 
so we went. That is about the easiest way to manage: 
say you are going to do a thing, and then simply go 
ahead and do it. The ship behaved most beautifully, 
and the evolution was perfectly performed. Even the 
chaplain, dear soul! came and congratulated me, and 
said I must have a wonderful eye for distances, and 
no end of nerve. 

" We came over the bar just behind the Lucania, 
and the way she ran us out of sight was amusing. If 
we had been using full power of steam we should 
probably be in sight of her now, but we had only 
three boilers, and were making but twelve knots and 
a half. 

" Ice was reported well south of the Banks before 
we left New York, and not wishing any of that in 
mine, we came out on a course to keep us south of 
40°; but the third day out, Monday, the temperature 
of the water suddenly fell 24° and the air 5°, so I knew 
who our neighbour was, and kept a bright lookout for 

367 



A Sailor's Log 

icebergs. After an hour of most anxious watching 
the temperature again went up and all danger was 
past. Up to yesterday afternoon the weather was 
blowing, with rain and fog, but to-day is clear and 
beautiful and warm. To-night we shall be halfway 
over, and I shall treat the ship to another boiler, which 
should give us fifteen knots. I don't want the Colum- 
bia to catch us, and I do want to get in, take my coal 
and be cleaned up, when Admiral Kirkland puts in, in 
the San Francisco. 

" Everything is quiet and lovely in the ship, but 
this morning, about four o'clock, I was nearly thrown 
out of my bed, by the engines reversing at full speed, 
and no end of a row lowering the lifeboat. A new 
landsman we had recently acquired had pulled the knob 
of the life buoy, just to see what would happen. He 
won't be so curious again, I think. 

" May 2^d. — After I wrote yesterday we came 
pretty near finding the ice again. The temperature of 
the water fell suddenly from 65° to 49°, and the air was 
bitter. I found on examining the last pilot chart that 
we were almost in the exact spot where a berg four 
hundred feet high had been seen less than a week ago. 
After half an hour we ran out of the cold into beautiful, 
clear, warm weather, which has continued ever since. 

" Our extra boiler is helping, and we have been 
making over fifteen knots since eight last night. We 
shall be halfway across some time to-night, and the Co- 
lumbia will have to * hump herself ' to sight us before 
we anchor. The doctor tells me to-day that, after care- 
fully measuring the quantity of air pumped into the 
New York per hour, he finds that she is better ven- 

368 



In the Channel 

tilated out here on the sea than most of the large build- 
ings in New York. Careful analysis shows that the 
quality of the air in the ship is as fine as the quantity is 
abundant. 

" May 2yth, Tzvo Hundred Miles West of Land's 
End. — We are drawing up to the entrance of the Chan- 
nel. We have made a lovely run — probably the quick- 
est ever made by a man-of-war. The weather has been 
fairly good — a long swell from the northwest, which 
has cut our speed down somewhat, and a strong, steady 
southwest wind all the way. To-day is clear, and, if it 
continues so, we shall make the Bishop's Rock Light 
without trouble and be anchored ofif Netley Abbey to- 
morrow evening. We left New York in company with 
a large four-masted steamer, and for two days had her 
in sight all the time. Then she steered more to the 
north and we lost her. This morning at dayhght she 
was in sight on our port beam, and it looks now as if 
we should run up the Channel side by side. 

"Off Netley, Southampton, May 2pth. — I stopped 
writing off the Scilly Islands, and yesterday afternoon 
the blessed fog caught us about two hundred miles ofi 
Land's End, but fortunately cleared as we came by 
Bishop's Rock, and so I entered the Channel knowing 
our position accurately. After passing Eddystone it 
shut in as thick as pea soup and I saw nothing up to 
Portland, when it cleared, and we ran for the entrance 
to the Solent, which we made night before last at ten, 
but no pilot could we get, so we had to anchor until 
six yesterday morning, thus losing valuable time. The 
run up past the Isle of Wight was exceedingly beauti- 
ful, as was the view of Cowes Roads; but the ship took 

369 



A Sailor's Log 

most of my time and attention, and I could only glance 
at things as we ran by them. 

" We found the San Francisco, Marblehead, and 
Alliance here, but not the Columbia. Admiral Kirk- 
land will not take the squadron to Kiel, but orders us 
to meet him at Copenhagen June 12th, and from there 
we will go to Kiel for the show. After that is over, 
we are to be cut loose, as it were, to go where we please, 
and find our way back to New York when ordered. 

" The Columbia came in last night at 9.30, having 
burned fourteen hundred tons of coal on the way over, 
as against eight hundred for us. We ran at half power, 
she at two thirds, so the New York is not a very 
slow ship. 

" The admiral is to leave on the 5th, and we shall 
follow on the ninth; so we must hurry up the coaling 
that we may get cleaned up and ready. Yesterday 
afternoon I 'struck the beach' and had a delightful hour 
in the ruins of Netley Abbey, certainly one of the most 
beautiful spots I have ever seen. The lights and shad- 
ows were exquisite, and the air was filled with the songs 
of birds. Afterward I dined at the club for the sum 
of five shillings. I had soup, grilled mackerel, devilled 
kidney, three vegetables, cold roast beef and salad, 
cherry tart, cheese, a cup of coffee, and a pint of good 
red wine. No club in the United States can do any- 
thing like it for the money. 

" Two Italian ships have come in to-day and more 
are expected to-morrow. I hear they are sending a 
fleet of ten vessels. 

" May sotJi. — Our flag was at half-mast yesterday, 
and the same to-day, for poor Mr. Gresham. 

370 



A Nigger Prince 

"Off Netley, June 5, 1895.— I came back from 
London last night at midnight, after a most delightful 
visit. Met many friends there who gave me dinners, 
luncheons, drives, and made as much fuss over me as if 
I were named Mahan. Sunday we went into the park 
to see * Church Parade,' and surely it was a sight. The 
Duke of Cambridge was walking slowly through the 
park and eying the dresses with apparent interest. 
After the park we drove to the zoo, where the Afghan- 
istan prince was having an outing. All the royal car- 
riages were out, and the Prince and Princess of Wales 
were showing him about. They call him a ' nigger,' 
and at the same time bow down to him and make much 
of him, for fear of what he may do in the East. Funny 
people! The nigger prince at a dinner party last week 
refused to enter the drawing-room because of the low 
dresses of the ladies, saying it was not decent. When 
he had to take out the lady of the house, he walked two 
yards ahead of her, and wouldn't look at her during the 
dinner. Funny nigger! 

" This morning the admiral signalled for all com- 
manding ofBcers to repair on board. There he told 
us that we would have to be at Copenhagen on the 
nth, and that he would then transfer his flag to the 
New York. Orders have come from Washington that 
we are to assemble at Kiel on the 15th — four days be- 
fore we are wanted— and that the admiral, captains, 
and as many officers as the ship can hold, are to go by 
rail to Hamburg, and thence through the canal on 
board the Marblehead. 

"Copenhagen, Denmark, June loth. — Here we are, 
and if I am to do much of this sort of work I shall need 

371 



A Sailor's Log 

new eyes and new legs. We got under way from 
Southampton at 3 a. m. Saturday, after I had slept just 
two hours. Friday night I thought I would get some 
sleep, but, as I was removing my coat, four English 
officers came on board to say good-bye, and it was mid- 
night when they left. At 3 a. m. I was on the bridge, 
my clothes have not been off since, and my poor 
legs and feet are very bad. When we got under way, 
Saturday, the Columbia followed immediately, and we 
had it ' nip and tuck ' up the Channel. After three 
hours we passed her, both of us going very fast, and as 
we entered the Dover Strait we were leading about two 
ships' lengths. Off the South Foreland we passed the 
Spanish squadron — the Columbia on one side and we 
on the other. It was coming on foggy, and at first the 
Dons could not make us out, but as we ranged up 
abreast of their rear ship they ' caught on,' and their 
admiral, not wishing to exchange salutes, I suppose, 
hauled down his flag until we had passed him. At the 
same time he made signal for full speed, and it was 
funny to see his efforts. We raced by them as if they 
had been tied to a wharf. It was a beautiful sight — 
what we could see of it for the fog. Shortly afterward 
I slowed to half speed, as it grew so thick one could 
* cut it with a knife.' The Columbia passed under our 
stern, going full speed, and we saw nothing more of 
her until we found her anchored here at noon to-day. 

" June nth. — Night before last, as we ran out of 
the North Sea, the sun set at nine o'clock exactly, and 
at half past eleven it was still light enough to read on 
the bridge. The twilight gradually moved around to 
northeast and the moon rose in the south. At 2 a. m. 

372 



Arrival at Kiel 

the sun came up over the Swedish mountains, and the 
scene was worth coming all this way to look at. About 
3 A. M, we passed a fleet of battle ships heading for 
Kiel, and soon after entered Skaw Sound without a 
pilot, and from there on I was kept busy." 

The harbour is, comparatively speaking, a small 
one, and the channels narrow and very crooked; but 
we managed after a while to get a good berth near the 
San Francisco. Admiral Kirkland transferred his flag 
to me the following day with his staff and all their 
belongings, but, as he was only to remain on board a 
short time, concluded to mess with me rather than start 
his own mess. 



373 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE KIEL CELEBRATION 

Two days later we started for Kiel through the in- 
tricate waters of the Little Belt and arrived without 
accident. On the way we passed vessels of almost 
every nation, most of them at anchor putting the last 
touch of paint on before entering the harbour. When 
ofif the entrance to the port we were met by a torpedo 
boat, which put a German naval officer on board of each 
ship to show us where our buoys were. The one who 
came to us was from the Naval College in Berlin and 
was detailed for duty on the admiral's staff during our 
stay. He spoke English well and was a most accom- 
plished man. 

As we entered the harbour we found the German 
fleet drawn up in two long lines, and as we passed 
them each ship manned her rigging and cheered us. 
The cheering and the noise of the saluting guns 
made quite a Fourth-of-July effect. Before we reached 
our buoy the New York had fired one hundred and fifty 
guns in saluting the various notable persons in the 
harbour, though the Austrian fleet was the only one 
ahead of us. We took our buoys in a way to elicit the 
admiration of all who saw the evolution. As soon as 
"we were fast to them, the telephone from shore was con- 

374 



A Skilful Emperor 

nected to our pilot house, and from that day until the 
day of our departure we had only to 'phone for any- 
thing that we wanted from a keg of beer to a brown- 
stone front and it was furnished free of cost. The per- 
fect way in which everything was arranged was a great 
credit to the emperor, who personally had his eye on 
every detail. Eighty-five buoys were laid down in the 
harbour, each one with the number of the ship that was 
to take it painted on it, and on top the flag of the nation 
to which she belonged. Each ship, as she took her 
buoy, was connected with the shore by telephone, as 
in the case of the New York. 

In the space of two days all the fleets had arrived 
and were composed of the finest ships in the navies 
of the world. The question of the exchange of official 
visits under such circumstances was a most puzzling 
one, and here the good sense of the emperor showed 
out strongly. He designated one of his own vessels, 
a very large and roomy one, and invited all admirals 
and captains to meet him there at breakfast. With 
the invitation came a request that each would bring 
his orderly provided with a mail bag. After the 
breakfast was over, the orderhes were drawn up in 
line, and each admiral and captain dropped his card 
in all the bags except his own, and thus in a few 
minutes cards had been exchanged with all hands. 
After that, if one had the time, he could call on such 
officers as he had known before, or those whose ac- 
quaintance he cared to make. The New York was 
about the newest thing in the way of a cruiser, and 
everybody wanted to see her. She was also neutral 
ground, so to speak, where all could meet with a 
25 375 



A Sailor's Log 

freedom not possible on other ships. We were not 
hunting for alHances with other nations nor they with 
us, and we could be and were as independent as was our 
far-away country. 

The French and Russian fleets met outside the har- 
bour of Kiel and came in together, showing in this, as 
in other actions, their strong desire to have the recent 
alliance between the two countries noticed. Both 
admirals declined the invitation of the emperor to 
land their crews and be entertained by the German 
naval contingent, and both fleets put to sea at the 
earliest possible moment permitted by the strictest 
etiquette. 

The English squadron of four battle ships and two 
armoured cruisers seemed to me the most businesslike- 
looking outfit of the whole gathering. The ships were 
in perfect condition, and it was evident at a glance that 
they were not made so for the occasion, but that it was 
their usual condition, while in the case of the ships of 
some other powers the practised eye could see that 
" paint and putty covered a multitude of sins." I was 
particularly interested in the English cruiser from 
which the New York was supposed by many to have 
been copied. She was lying very near us, and her offi- 
cers, as well as the British admiral in command, after 
looking us over carefully, admitted that the New York 
was far the better ship of the two. The admiral finally 
asked if I would object to the chief constructor of the 
British navy coming on board and having a look at us, 
and when I assured him that it would give me the 
greatest pleasure to show my ship to so distinguished 
a guest, he wired the admiralty, and I afterward, at 

37^ 



Opening the Canal 

Gravesend, had the pleasure of having Mr. White on 
board for many hours. 

The ceremonies attendant upon the opening of the 
Kiel Canal began at Hamburg, where the burgomas- 
ters gave a banquet to the emperor and his guests. 
Twelve hundred sat down to dinner, among them the 
most distinguished men in Europe. All military offi- 
cers were in special full dress and the burgomasters 
wore their state robes. The emperor wore a gorgeous 
military dress with many brilliant decorations. After 
the banquet there was a fine display of fireworks on an 
island in the lake, which had been made for the occa- 
sion. Several thousand persons walked about on this 
island listening to the bands and enjoying the beer and 
other refreshments which were in abundance every- 
where, and I doubt if any, except those familiar with 
the place, knew that they were on made ground, so per- 
fectly had the work been done. In the midst of the 
banquet, which was most elaborate, schooners of beer 
were served. The idea of drinking mine was more than 
I could face, but the German officer who was looking 
after my comfort promptly disposed of it as well as 
his own. I had great admiration for his capacity. 

Before this time the admiral commanding each fleet 
had sent a small vessel to Hamburg to convey the min- 
ister and other officials through the canal. After the 
fireworks display, we all got under way at 2 a. m. and 
started down the river according to rank, the emperor 
leading in the Hohenzollern. We, having the baby 
admiral, were No. 20, being near the tail end of the 
procession instead of near its head, where the impor- 
tance of our country should have placed us. Wc ran 

377 



A Sailor's Log 

down the Elbe sixty miles to Brunsbiittel, where we 
entered the canal, steamed through it a distance of 
about seventy-eight miles, and came out two miles 
below Kiel. At intervals along the line of the canal 
the emperor had massed bodies of troops, who were 
paraded and saluted the colours as each vessel passed. 
As the Hohenzollern, showing the emperor's flag, en- 
tered the harbour, there was a great outburst of cheer- 
ing with the roar of salutes as the assembled fleets wel- 
comed him. 

For the purpose of entertaining his naval guests, 
the emperor had built on the land, near Holtnau, al- 
most at the Kiel entrance to the canal, a large ship of 
the line. She was full ship-rigged, had all her yards 
across, and her gun deck was beautifully decorated for 
the dinner, which was given on the day following our 
arrival from Hamburg. When the banquet was over, 
souvenir medals were presented to all of us and we 
retired to the upper deck for our cigars, where all were 
presented personally to his Majesty and exchanged a 
few pleasant words with him. I stood near him during 
the time he conversed with the French admiral and his 
officers, waiting my turn to be presented, and could not 
help being impressed by his manner as well as by that 
of the Frenchmen. They were all ideally polite, but 
there was, in the bearing of the emperor, a hearty feeling 
of success which I did not observe in the manner of the 
distinguished officers who were saying good-bye to him. 
They were to sail in the early morning in company with 
the Russian fleet. When I was presented to him the 
emperor gave me a cordial hand-shake and kept others 
waiting quite five minutes while he talked to me in the 

378 



Fireworks 

most pleasant way. He had many questions to asT< me, 
which he said he would expect me to answer before I 
left Kiel. His whole manner to the American officers 
was most pleasing and cordial. 

I had arranged with the chief of stafif to get rid of 
my fireworks on this occasion, that the emperor might 
witness them on his way back to the Hohenzollern from 
dinner. Certain signals had been agreed upon, and 
when these were made, indicating that his Majesty was 
in position to see, the New York cut loose. All the 
ships had been doing something in the way of fireworks, 
but it had leaked out somehow that the Yankees had 
something up their sleeve, and when we began, all the 
rest stopped to see what would happen. We started 
ofif with a set piece eighty feet long suspended between 
our military masts, a portrait of President Cleveland 
at one end and of the emperor at the other, and between 
them the legend in German script, " America sends 
heartfelt congratulations to Germany on the opening 
of the North Sea Canal." As this blazed out, the thou- 
sands of people massed on the shore only three hundred 
yards away broke into a great roar of cheers, which 
was taken up by the different ships, and gradually died 
out in the distance. Then the show went on with such 
bursts of rockets and bombs and mines as had never 
before been seen on a ship, and finally wound up with an- 
other set piece, the American shield at one end, the 
German double eagle at the other, and " Good-night " 
between them. The upper deck of the New York had 
been carefully covered with six inches of wet sand, but, 
notwithstanding many streams of water were constantly 
playing, I found that we were badly marked in many 

379 



A Sailor's Log 

phces. The carpenters were busy with their planes 
for several days before they were all removed. The 
German papers, as well as all the officers who witnessed 
the display, were unstinted in their praise. The feel- 
ing uppermost in my mind was one of thankfulness that 
it was all over without an accident. 

At a reception given on board one of the German 
battle ships on the Sunday after our arrival I had an 
interesting experience. When I went over the side I 
found a large company, most of them dancing. As I 
was not a dancing man, I stood to one side to be out of 
the way, and entered into conversation with a young 
clean-cut-looking German captain who spoke English 
perfectly. It was soon evident to me that he was bril- 
liant in his profession, and we engaged in a rather sharp 
professional talk. I did not agree with the captain, 
whose name I had not caught, and did not hesitate to 
speak my mind — nor did he. After a time he said he 
would be glad to present me to his wife, which he did, 
and I found her a very charming and attractive woman. 
Of course I had not caught her name either, and, after 
talking with her half an hour, I noticed that a good 
many people seemed to be waiting to speak to her, so 
I took myself off to the smoking apartment to enjoy 
a cigar. \'\nien I entered, Admiral Knorr greeted me 
and said, " Evans, the prince says you are a good fel- 
low, and he wants the emperor to know you." I re- 
plied, " My dear admiral, I haven't seen the prince and 
don't know him." " Well," he said, " you ought to 
know him; you have been talking shop with him for 
half an hour, and I don't know what you have been say- 
ing to the princess during your conversation with her." 

380 



A Prince Unawares 

I had been talking with two of the most delightful 
people I ever met, Prince Henry and the Princess Irene, 
without knowing in the least who they were, and I cer- 
tainly told them both exactly what I thought about the 
different things we discussed. The prince was in his 
uniform as a captain in the navy, and commanded the 
vessel on which the reception was given. I afterward 
saw much of both of them and was indebted to them 
for much courtesy, and the better I knew them the 
more I saw in them to admire. It was no doubt owing 
to the courtesy of Prince Henry that his brother, the 
emperor, gave me such marks of his distinguished con- 
sideration. The Princess Irene came several times to 
the New York, and seemed always interested and 
pleased with her visits. 



381 



CHAPTER XXXI 

THE GERMAN EMPEROR 

The racing spirit was rife at Kiel, and our men 
were delighted to have a hand in anything in that line. 
The San Francisco held the championship of the navy 
for twelve-oared cutters, and had on board the boat 
with which she had won it. We of the New York had 
a boat as yet untried and unnamed, which we thought 
well of, and I had given much time and care to the train- 
ing of a crew, with the intention of winning the coveted 
prize if possible. When we met at Kiel we raced in the 
presence of all the foreign ships, and my men won by 
a good margin. This led to an interesting incident, 
which I shall record later on. We also entered our sail- 
ing launch for the regatta, which was arranged by the 
emperor for man-of-war boats under sail, and won the 
fifth prize, competing with thirty-six German boats of 
the same kind. It was generally admitted that we 
would have taken the first prize if there had been a 
bit more wind. When the race started, the breeze was 
very light and all German boats were well ahead of us, 
but later on it freshened up, and it was glorious to see 
the way our boat walked out to windward of them. 
At the finish we had done up all but five, and were so 
close to them that ten minutes more would have given 

382 



A Ball on Board 

us the lead. We were the only outsiders in the race, 
and brought away two silver cups as our trophies. 

In return for all the hospitality we had received 
we gave two entertainments of note. The officers of 
all the ships combined, and gave a dancing reception 
on board the New York, and I a dinner to the em- 
peror and a party of his ranking officers. Of course, 
all the ships were constantly entertaining officers of 
various nationalities, and I doubt if there was a meal 
served in any mess of our fleet during our stay at Kiel, 
not even a breakfast, without the presence of guests. I 
can not do better than quote the following from my 
journal written at the time: 

" Kid, June 28, 1893.— ThQ Kiel spree is a thing of 
the past, and we are now only waiting the arrival of our 
orders to be ofif. The whole business has been the most 
complete success possible, and when the last one of our 
nine hundred guests left, yesterday evening, I was grati- 
fied to think that we had not had a mishap of any kind 
except the explosion of the San Francisco's launch 
boiler, which was nothing. In order to wind up in 
proper shape, we gave a dancing reception on board the 
New York. All ships combined, and it was a magnifi- 
cent success. All Kiel was invited, and all Kiel is talk- 
ing of it to-day. 

" Unfortunately, the empress was too ill to come, 
and the Princess Henry could not leave her, which was 
a disappointment to all hands. We had two bands and 
no end of dancing on both decks from three o'clock to 
7- 30- The flowers were beautiful, the women more so, 
and the food excellent— they drank nineteen kegs of 
beer and thirty gallons of punch. 

383 



A Sailor's Log 

" On the 26th Prince and Princess Henry came in 
the afternoon with a party of ladies and spent two hours 
on the ship, really enjoying themselves. When they 
were about to go, the princess presented me with her 
photograph, and I was ashamed to have to say that I 
had not one of mine to give her in return. They are 
lovely, refined, kindly people, and I am glad to have 
known them. 

" The evening of the 26th was the crucial test. I 
had invited the emperor and Prince Henry and ten 
admirals to dine, and they all accepted. When the 
emperor came on board I had the men and officers 
massed aft on the superstructure and in the gangways, 
and as soon as Admiral Kirkland had welcomed him I 
made him a short speech, reciting that we had the 
champion twelve-oared cutter of the American navy, 
and asked on the part of my crew the honour of nam- 
ing her after his daughter Victoria Louisa. He was 
really touched by the compliment, and, taking my hand, 
granted my request most graciously. As soon as I 
could, I turned to the crew and called for three cheers 
for the Victoria Louisa, and then three cheers and a 
tiger for the emperor. I don't think he ever heard such 
cheers before. It was a very pretty episode and gave 
our dinner a good start. 

" As soon as we sat down the emperor said: * How 
pleased the empress will be when she hears of this! You 
must have your boat and crew photographed and send 
the empress one.* (This I did on my return to New 
York.) 

" The dinner was one of the most delightful I 
have ever seen, a perfect success, and George, my 

384 




a, 
E 



Inspection by the Emperor 

steward, who bossed the entire affair, is as proud as a 
peacock. 

" At I A. M. the emperor expressed a desire to visit 
and inspect the engine room. And so we did. He 
looked into every hole and corner, and even had us 
disconnect one of the engines, marking time on us 
himself. Then we went through the gun deck and out 
on to the forecastle, where he asked how long it would 
take to close all water-tight doors. I replied that in 
the daytime we could do it in thirty seconds, but at 
night it required about two minutes. Much to my sur- 
prise, he asked if I would mind doing it for him. Of 
course I had to say yes, but when I tried to blow the 
siren, the signal to close water-tight doors, there was 
not steam enough, and the blessed thing would not 
blow. The emperor thought he had me, and said, 
* Now you see, captain, you can't close your bulk- 
heads.' But he did not know everything. I said, 
' You will see in a moment, sir,' and I touched one of 
the general alarm buttons, which calls all hands to 
quarters, and in a few seconds the men were swarming 
up like rats. 

" The emperor took the time himself, and in one 
minute and a half the entire ship was ready for ac- 
tion with all water-tight doors closed. It was 2 a. m., 
the royal standard at our main and the search light of 
the Columbia turned on it, the ship ready for action, 
and the emperor complimenting the captain on the 
forecastle. I find myself in some funny positions. 

" When we went aft, where every one could hear 
him, he said, ' Captain Evans, I can not imagine that a 
ship could be in better condition ' — very nice for all of 

385 



A Sailor's Log 

us. He left the ship just at 2 a. m., and all Germany has 
been reading accounts of it since." 

I can recall very vividly how surprised I was when 
at five o'clock the same morning my orderly called me 
out of a sound sleep to report that the officer of the 
deck said the emperor was just then passing the ship, 
steering his own yacht. My only reply was, " For 
Heaven's sake don't stop him! " I managed to get one 
eye open, and, looking out of an air port in my cabin, 
discovered him, dressed in white flannels, steering the 
Meteor bound for an ocean race, and looking as if he 
had never taken a drink or smoked a cigar in his life. 

People often ask me to tell them what impression 
the emperor made on me, and I always find it very diffi- 
cult to answer the question. To say that he made a 
pleasant impression is simple and easy, but it means 
nothing. I found him one of the most magnetic and 
companionable of men — I should say, with one or two 
exceptions, the most magnetic. He knows more about 
more different things than any man I have ever met. 
When I was in Kiel my band was playing music com- 
posed by him, and on my cabin table was a book of 
poems written by him. He was the head and front of 
the finest army in the world, and at the same time 
giving his personal attention to what must some day be 
reckoned one of the leading navies. The Kiel Canal 
was of his creation, and his engineers told me that he 
was familiar with all its details, as well as with those of 
bridge-building in a large sense. The farmers in- 
formed me that he could instruct them in their busi- 
ness, and I personally saw him manoeuvre a fleet at sea 
in the most creditable way. After luncheon at the 

386 



A Talk with the Emperor 

palace one day, during a very interesting conversation, 
he described to me our first battle ship, the Indiana! 
which I afterward commanded, and his knowledge of 
her construction and details of armour and guns was 
perfect. He seemed to have the same knowledge of all 
foreign ships. When I gave him a Smithfield ham for 
dinner he even knew where Smithfield was. 

On one occasion the emperor turned on me sud- 
denly and said: ''Captain, I understand you think I 
ought to have a strong navy. Will you tell me why 
you think so? " I replied that many of us who were 
interested in such matters had observed that the Jews 
had at one time made serious encroachments on Eng- 
lish trade, but having no navy, of course they made no 
efforts to control the carrying trade; that then we had 
observed that the Germans had taken a hand in the 
game and had beaten the Jews, as they had the English, 
and that if I read the signs correctly, he, the emperor, 
meant with his cheaply built merchant ships to follow 
up this advantage of the German merchants and control 
the carrying trade of the world. I pointed out to him 
that a powerful navy was necessary to this scheme to 
protect his merchant fleet against the navies of those 
who might be disposed to contest this supremacy with 
him. He listened very attentively, and when I had 
finished he said, " Captain, unfortunately, my Parlia- 
ment does not entertain the same view of the ques- 
tion." To which I replied, " If your Majesty will per- 
mit me to say so, I think you will eventually bring 
your Pariiament to think as you do." I had many 
opportunities to see him among his people, and if he 
was not their idol, then they were certainly well up in 

387 



A Sailor's Log 

the art of deception, for they seemed to worship him. 
To us, as representatives of our country, he was most 
cordial and considerate, and took no pains to conceal 
from others his strong friendship for the United States. 
I shall always remember him as I last saw him. He 
had given a splendid banquet in Kiel as a finish to his 
wonderfully successful opening of the canal. On one 
side of him sat the Grand Duke Alexis, on the other the 
Duke of York, while the lesser lights were seated ac- 
cording to rank. At the proper moment the emperor 
rose from his chair and, with a full glass of champagne 
in his extended hand, in clear, ringing tones that could 
be heard in every part of the room, said, in perfect Eng- 
lish, " I drink to all the great sea nations who have sent 
their magnificent fleets to Kiel to join in the opening 
ceremonies of the North Sea Canal." He was to me 
the picturesque figure among all the ruling heads of 
Europe. 



388 



CHAPTER XXXII 

BACK TO HOME WATERS 

On June 30th I left Kiel with much regret and 
started on my return trip to New York, via Eng- 
land. The following extract from my journal is of 
interest. 

" North Sea, July i, 1895. — We left Kiel at 2 a. m. 
yesterday and had a beautiful run through the intricate 
channels of the Great Belt and out of the Skager Rack. 
The Columbia started with us and was in company 
until seven in the evening, when we ran her out of sight. 
The wind was fresh from the northwest, which was 
ahead, and the fleet of sailing craft beating out of the 
Baltic was beautiful to see, but I was glad when we 
were clear of them. We shall probably be in Gravesend 
at 8 A. M. to-morrow, weather permitting. 

" July 2d. — An awful night! Up all night and most 
anxious. North Sea full of vessels, and the rain and 
fog nasty. Made the coast of England at 2 a. m. and 
found a pilot, but he was afraid to take us in, so away 
I went to Ramsgate, where we arrived three hours later, 
and soon had another pilot on board who brought us 
to this anchorage, six miles below Gravesend. Blow- 
ing a living gale all the way up, and my eyes fairly cut 
out of my head. As soon as the tide serves I shall go 

389 



A Sailor's Log 

up to the town, make fast to a buoy, coal ship, and get 
ready for the trip to New York. 

"At Sea, Six Hundred Miles off New York, Jidy 2 2d. 
— We have had a real old-fashioned * North Atlantic 
passage ' — one gale following another in rapid succes- 
sion. Until yesterday the shaking of the ship was so 
bad that writing was practically impossible, but now it 
has calmed down somewhat. 

" Our last days at Gravesend were well filled with 
visits. Mr. White, chief constructor, came down from 
London, bringing some of his stafT, to make notes on 
the ship, and the same day Admiral Morant came up 
from Chatham to spend the day, so we had a merry 
lunch party. On Sunday, Admiral Hotham and Cap- 
tain Lambton came down from the city, and we had a 
long yarn over old times. In the meantime the ship 
was so crowded with all sorts of people that we had to 
stop them from coming on board. Everybody, from 
the member of Parliament for the district down to the 
servant maids, wanted to see the ship, and were, one 
and all, most enthusiastic over her condition. I never 
knew more hospitable people in my life — they wanted 
to do all sorts of things for us, from four-in-hand drives 
to dinner parties. 

" On Monday, at 4 a. m., we left, and once being 
clear of the river and down as far as Dover, I let her 
go on her semiannual full-speed trial. We had a 
straight run in the Channel for it, and I was grati- 
fied to find that the engines and all their dependencies 
were in better condition than when we made our trial in 
January last. We had half a gale on our nose all day 
and all night, and when we cleared the Scilly Islands, at 

390 



Fleet Drills 

four the next morning, it turned into a whole gale from 
northwest with a nasty sea, and that state of things 
continued until yesterday afternoon, when it broke, and 
only the long, heavy sea remains. We should have 
made New York to-morrow evening if the weather 
had been halfway decent, but as it is we shall go in 
on Thursday — not a bad run, everything considered. 
Through it all the ship has proved herself wonderfully 
able and seaworthy, and I wish we had more like her, 
instead of the Columbia and Raleigh classes." 

Upon my arrival in New York, July 25th, I was 
ordered to report to Admiral Bunce for duty as flag- 
ship of the North Atlantic squadron, which I did at the 
navy yard on the following day. I had carried the 
flag of two admirals, and now had the third, which was 
a rare experience for any captain, and one I imagine few 
captains would ever care to have. Flagship duty is not 
considered desirable as a general rule. 

When the New York had had some small repairs 
made, we began cruising, and Admiral Bunce inaugu- 
rated the system of fleet drills which did so much to 
prepare the navy for its success in the Spanish War 
which came a few years later. I am sure that the feel- 
ing is general, among officers at least, that no officer 
ever did more conscientious work — work that led to 
more splendid results — than Admiral Bunce. He es- 
tablished two drill grounds, as they were called — one 
ofif New York and one off Cape Henry, Virginia — and 
when not coaling, the fleet could be found on one or 
the other of these grounds or cruising between them 
for months. We had constant torpedo drill, until each 
torpedo on board could be made to run with all the 



26 



391 



A Sailor's Log 

accuracy it was capable of. The firing was systematic 
and continued until the gun captains could hit the 
target with reasonable certainty; and the ships were 
kept under way in all kinds of fleet manoeuvres at differ- 
ent speeds, until those in charge of them could handle 
them with confidence and without fear of colHsion. 
I am sure no such persistent work was ever before done 
by any fleet, and the good effects were most marked. 



392 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

ON THE INDIANA 

In October following my return from Kiel, I was 
detached from command of the New York and ordered 
to Philadelphia to fit out and command the Indiana, 
our first battle ship. She had been built at Cramp's 
shipyard, and was the heaviest armed and armoured 
ship in the world. The New York had seemed to me 
a complicated mass of machinery, but this new thing 
was a real machine shop from top to bottom. It re- 
quired weeks of hard work and study after I joined 
her before I felt reasonably sure that I would not get 
lost, if I attempted to inspect her throughout; but 
when I did get the hang of her she certainly was a 
magnificent command. The Department had selected 
a very fine set of officers for her, and to them, particu- 
larly to the able executive officer, Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Swift, I owe all the reputation I made in her. 
After two i. onths of constant work we got away from 
League IslanJ, and, having taken in our torpedoes at 
Newport, joined the admiral at Fortress Monroe. Be- 
fore reporting to him, however, the Inspection Board, 
presided over by Commodore George Dewey, took 
us to sea and gave us a thorough overhauling. Their 
report was very favourable, considering the short time 

393 



A Sailor's Log 

we had been in commission and the few opportunities 
we had had for working the enormous guns of her bat- 
tery. She carried the first thirteen-inch breech-loading 
rifles ever put afloat in our service; she had four of 
them mounted in pairs in turrets, one forward and the 
other aft. 

During the winter it became necessary to clean the 
bottom of the Indiana, and the so-called dock at Port 
Royal, South Carolina, was the only one ready to re- 
ceive her. I was ordered to proceed to that point for 
the purpose, and then return to my station with the 
fleet. I sailed from Hampton Roads with coal enough 
to leave me with only two hundred tons on board when 
I should reach my destination, hoping in this way to 
reduce the draught of the ship as much as possible. 
Everything went well with me until I had passed Cape 
Hatteras, when I ran into a sudden terrific gale, which 
soon produced a very ugly heavy sea. I was naturally 
desirous of testing the ship in such weather, as none of 
us knew what a battle ship would do under such condi- 
tions, so I kept her going at full speed and drove her 
hard into the seas. We were soon battened down fore 
and aft, and, despite our best efforts, much water found 
its way below. The waves were going clear over us 
forward, at times completely covering our thirteen-inch 
gun turret with solid green water and throwing heavy 
spray over the upper bridge. Having satisfied myself 
that the Indiana could stand any amount of sea, so long 
as she was kept head on to it, I changed the course and 
brought the sea abeam, when to my surprise she rolled 
very little and was entirely comfortable, except for the 
water sweeping over her spar deck. I then slowed her 

394 



In Dock at Port Royal 

down to good steerage way, when she was as dry as 
a cork and looked like a small island surrounded by 
seething white breakers. 

When the fury of the gale had passed I steamed 
on to the Port Royal lightship, and there waited for 
high water to help me over the dangerous bar. With 
a lighthouse tender sounding ahead of me I passed 
in on the very top of high water, and at the worst 
point in the channel had just one foot of water to 
spare. The least bit of a sea would have caused us 
to take the bottom, which is of hard sand. The risk 
was very great and the sensation anything but pleas- 
ant. Once inside, however, we were comparatively 
safe, and I steamed on to the so-called dockyard, 
hoping to dock the ship at once. When I arrived 
there, however, I found that nothing was ready for 
me. There was not sufficient water even if the dock 
had been ready. In the meantime the tide had begun 
to fall, and I was caught like a rat in a trap. It was 
impossible to take the ship to the lower bay again 
on that tide, so I had to remain where I was. The 
commanding officer of the station and the pilots came 
on board and pointed out to me a berth where the 
largest ship in the world could safely swing to her 
anchors. Indeed, according to their accounts, the only 
trouble with the place was that they had too much 
water and too much swinging room. However, I had 
my own views about all this; but as I could not get 
away, I had to make the best of it. 

Half of South Carolina was on hand to see the first 
great battle ship placed in their beautiful dock, and as 
soon as I had anchored in the selected spot they crowded 

395 



A Sailor's Log 

on board of me by thousands. The ship filled to suf- 
focation with them, when at half tide she sat down on 
the hard bottom and remained there, much to my dis- 
comfort. I soon hustled the visitors out and then 
waited quietly to see what harm would be done before I 
could get out of the trap in which I was caught. It 
was impossible to move until daylight the following 
morning, when I hoped that Divine Providence would 
send in a tide sufficient for me to go into dock. As 
the flood made, it lifted the ship from her uncom- 
fortable and dangerous berth and she swung with 
her stern up stream, in which position I attempted 
to hold her with heavy stern anchors, but it w^as no use. 
There was so little water under her that she practically 
formed a dam, and no power on earth could hold her. 
As the ebb tide again made, she swung to it, and I found 
myself with a wire hawser wound around our propellers 
to add to my comfort. The moment there was w^ater 
enough I cleared out and anchored in the bay eight 
miles away from the bothersome dock. 

Each high tide for a week I got under way and 
came up only to find that there was not water enough. 
Then I settled down to drill and target practice, de- 
termined to wait until an easterly gale or some other 
convulsion of Nature should send in the desired quan- 
tity of water. I waited, as I now recall it, nearly two 
weeks before I succeeded, and then only got into the 
dock by driving my engines at full speed. As we 
passed over the sill we had just live inches of water to 
spare. Once in and the gates closed, we were safe 
until such time as we wanted to get out again; but as 
there was no immediate prospect of w^ater enough for 

396 



A Critical Moment 

that, I gave myself no concern about it. As the dock 
was being emptied, the powerful pumps gradually 
slowed down and finally stopped, choked up with 
shrimp. Cart loads of the finest shrimp I ever saw were 
taken out before the pumps were cleared and fit to run 
again. When the water was all out, I fed my crew of 
five hundred men on fresh shellfish the like of which 
they had never before seen. We had found one good 
thing at least in the Port Royal naval station, but I 
could not help thinking that it was a costly and danger- 
ous way of getting shrimp. 

Two days was all we required to do the necessary 
work, and after that we waited for water enough to 
escape. For nine days we watched the gauge, and 
then an easterly wind swelled the tide to the neces- 
sary point and we started. When about half of the ship 
was clear of the entrance the flood tide caught her 
stern and she started in the direction of a heavy stone 
structure, which was sure to crush her side in if she 
struck it. There was but one thing to do, and I did 
that as promptly as I could. I rang both engines full 
speed astern, and called out for all hands to stand clear 
of the lines and hawsers by which we were held. The 
engines responded promptly, the ship gathered way 
quickly, and, after a second or two of snapping lines, 
she shot out of the dock into the stream. For a few 
minutes it looked as if she must be seriously damaged, 
but she escaped the threatening stone structure by 
exactly eleven inches. We had a cork fender haneino- 
over the side which was twelve inches in diameter, and 
she squeezed this against the blocks of granite as she 
passed. I lost no time in making my way to a safe 

397 



A Sailor's Log 

anchorage, firmly resolved that if any more battle ships 
were to be docked at Port Royal some other captain 
would have to command them. 

The Indiana was soon again with the fleet, and when 
the Massachusetts had been fitted out and commis- 
sioned, the two of them formed an excellent unit in 
the long months of drill which followed. Admiral 
Bunce kept us at it night and day, until the officers had 
become as familiar with handling battle ships as they 
had previously been with smaller vessels. We took 
them to the navy yard and berthed them without even 
the assistance of tugs, and the way we handled them 
in the narrow parts of crowded New York Harbour 
showed that some of us had mastered our job. And 
we had mastered it in the only way possible to seamen 
— by constant work and practice out on blue water. 
We all owe much to Admiral Bunce. 

In the fall of 1896 the squadron started from Fort- 
ress Monroe for New York. It had been blowing hard 
for several days, and the admiral considered it a fit 
opportunity to test the sea-going qualities of the Indi- 
ana, and particularly the strength of the securing de- 
vices on her turrets. We found a heavy sea running 
before we were out of Chesapeake Bay, and when Cape 
Henry light was abeam I signalled that all my eight- 
inch turrets, four in number, were adrift, thinking that 
the admiral would direct me to return to port and 
secure them. On the contrary, we held on our course, 
and when the sun went down these turrets were se- 
curely lashed so that they could give no further trou- 
ble; but the sea in the meantime had increased very 
much, and the thirteen-inch turrets, each weighing five 

398 



A Terrific Gale 

hundred tons, began to work loose, and by ten o'clock 
had destroyed their controlling devices and were free 
to do as they pleased. The after-turret was secured 
by lashing the muzzles of the guns to the towing bitts 
on the quarter-deck with hawsers. There was no great 
danger in this work, as I kept the ship as nearly head 
to sea as possible, but several times the men were 
almost swept overboard. 

At midnight the gale was very bad and the sea 
coming on board in every direction. The night was 
as black as a pocket and the rest of the squadron 
out of sight ahead. I had been forced to slow down 
to protect the men and officers who were working 
on the forecastle in a desperate effort to secure the 
forward thirteen-inch turret, which was thrashing from 
side to side as the ship rolled and pitched. I stood 
by the wheel on the upper bridge, and frequently 
the whole forward end of her would go under water, 
men and all, and the sea would come up until I could 
easily have put my foot into it. At such times I held 
my breath as the water rolled ofif and the black heads 
of the officers and men, one after another, came in 
sight; I fully expected to see them swept overboard 
by the dozen. She was rolling forty degrees, and noth- 
ing I could do seemed to ease her. The sea was so 
irregular that I could not keep her bows on to it, and 
the night so pitch dark that I could not see where the 
heavy seas were coming from. 

At I A. M. the ash-chutes on the gun deck had 
their covers torn off and the deck was flooded, and 
there was no way to get the water out except by 
bailing with buckets. The carpenter, who was in a 

399 



A Sailor's Log 

great funk, came to me on the Ijridge, wiiite in the 
face, and reported in a trembhng voice, '' Sir, the 
gun deck is full of water, and 1 can't see how we 
are ever going to get it out! " I replied, " Go down 
and driiik some of it out, sir, and don't bother me 
again with your whining! " which sent him on his 
way and I saw no more of him. By the almost super- 
human efforts of the executive officer and the offi- 
cer of the forward turret, assisted by one hundred or 
more men, the thirtecn-inch guns were fmally lashed 
securely to the eight-inch turret on the upper deck, and 
the forward turret thus secured. The work required 
four hours, and most of the time all hands engaged in 
it were under water. In the meantime the lifeboats, 
which were hoisted on the upper deck of all, were 
smashed by the sea, which came up under them and 
stove them against the davit heads. By four o'clock 
in the morning we had everything well secured and the 
water all cleared out, so that I felt no apprehension for 
the safety of the shi[). Indeed, I had felt none after 
the first few heavy rolls she made with her gun deck 
flooded; then I did feel some doubt as to the result. 
I was soon satisfied that she would not capsize, and, 
later on, I made up my mind that she could do any- 
thing but climb a tree, and I thought she would do 
that if I gave her half a chance. 

Between midnight and four in the morning one 
of the young officers lost his leg by having it caught 
by an armoured door weighing two tons, which, un- 
fortunately, carried away its fastenings at the wrong 
moment and closed just when the young man was 
thrown out of his bunk across the doorsill. This was 

400 



A Cutter Race 

the only serious accident we had, though many of the 
men were somewhat bruised. I was glad when day- 
light put an end to one of the worst nights I ever spent 
at sea, and thankful that I had escaped a serious dis- 
aster. The officers behaved, as they always do, per- 
fectly, and the crew, many of them very young and new 
at the business, excited my warmest admiration. Not 
a soul on board, except the man who was advised to 
drink salt water, showed the least sign of fear or hesi- 
tation. I certainly had a crew full of sand up to their 
necks, and I felt like hugging every man Jack of them. 

We landed our wounded officer in New York the 
following day, and then went to the navy yard for re- 
pairs. I was told that the ship had not rolled as badly 
as I thought she had by those who imagined that they 
knew many things which they really only guessed at. 
The fragments of the various gimcracks which had 
been intended to hold her turrets were taken out, in 
many cases with a dustpan and broom, and new and 
better things put in. We were getting experience in 
battle-ship fittings, but, like the shrimp-catching, it was 
costly and dangerous. 

In fitting out the Indiana I was careful to see that 
she had, among other necessary things, a twelve-oared 
cutter, which I hoped some day might win from the 
cutter of the New York, which had done such good 
work at Kiel. I was careful in selecting the crew for 
her, and, after many months of faithful training, the 
race took place at Fortress Monroe. The distance 
pulled was six miles, in a rough sea, and the Victoria 
Louisa had to lower her colours to Uncle Sam, the 
name of our new boat. I think the same boats pulled 

401 



A Sailor's Log 

several races after I gave up command, and honours 
were about even between them. 

While refitting in New York, Mr. Rudyard Kipling 
breakfasted on board with me and seemed much inter- 
ested, particularly in the machinery, which he exam- 
ined very closely. Some weeks afterward he was good 
enough to send me a set of his books. On the title- 
page of Plain Tales from the Hills, facing a beautiful 
picture of Sergeant Mulvaney, done by my dear friend 
R. F. Zogbaum, he had written the following graceful 
lines, which I had hoped would always remain my per- 
sonal property. But some one stole them and gave 
them publicity. For that reason I allow myself to put 
them in this book: 

"Zogbaum draws with a pencil, 
And I do things with a pen ; 
And you sit up in a conning tower 
Bossing eight hundred men. 

" Zogbaum takes care of his business. 
And I take care of mine ; 
And you take care of ten thousand tons 
Sky-hooting through the brine. 

" Zogbaum can handle his shadows,] 
And I can handle my style ; 
And you can handle a ten-inch gun 
To carry seven mile. 

" ' To him that hath shall be given,' 

And that's why these books are sent 
To the man who has lived more stories 
Than Zogbaum or I could invent." 

During the fall of 1896 I was detached from the 
Indiana and once more ordered to duty on the Light- 
house Board, but this time as a member and not as 

402 



The Personnel Bill 

naval secretary, where I had previously served. While 
on this duty I was detailed in addition as a member 
of the Personnel Board, which Secretary Long, of 
the navy, had ordered to consider some remedy for 
the controversy which existed between the line and 
engineer officers of the service. The board was com- 
posed of leading officers of the two corps, and ably 
presided over by Mr, Theodore Roosevelt, Assistant 
Secretary, to whom more than any other man belongs 
the credit for the remedy applied later in the shape of 
the Naval Personnel Bill. The scheme of amalgama- 
tion embodied in that bill was first proposed by me, 
and I wish to assume the responsibility which attached 
to my act. The entire board, of course, voted on the 
proposition and approved it as a body. 



403 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE APPROACH OF WAR 

In the early winter of 1897 I was honoured with the 
confidence of Mr. Roosevelt, and was frequently con- 
sulted by him about various naval matters. He saw 
clearly the approaching storm of war, and knew well 
how unprepared we were in many ways to meet it, and 
it was owing to his strong will and earnest recom- 
mendations to Mr. Long that many most important 
steps were taken. In making this statement I detract 
nothing from the wonderful ability shown by Mr. 
Long. He had a most patriotic and painstaking assist- 
ant in solving a problem, the solution of which has 
reflected great credit on the country for all time to 
come. 

I left Washington in December, 1897, to make a 
trip of inspection of all the light stations on the South 
Atlantic and Gulf coasts in the lighthouse steamer 
Armcria. At Key West, Florida, I found the North 
Atlantic fleet under command of Admiral Sicard. and 
it was plain to me that that able officer expected war 
with Spain and was doing all he could to be ready for 
it when it came. The day before we sailed from the 
port the Maine was coaling preparatory to her visit to 
Havana. A large lighter was hauling out from the 

404 



Effect of the Maine Disaster 

coal dock and on her deck were a number of her men 
who had been loading the coal, and it seemed to me 
that I had never before seen a finer-looking lot of men. 
Among them was an old shipmate of mine, William 
Fuer, a boatswain's mate, who had served with me in 
the Yorktown, and as he stood on the bows of the 
lighter, directing her movements, he was the picture 
of a man-of-war's-man — strong, handsome, and fearless. 
I found his name in the list of those killed that awful 
night in Havana, when, whether by accident or design, 
Spain sealed her fate in the Western world. 

A few weeks later I was in New Orleans, Louisiana, 
where I had been enjoying the festivities of the carnival 
season, when the news of the destruction of the Maine 
shocked the civilized world. Men of all classes talked 
to me on the subject and asked my opinion, and, 
though I had a very decided one, I expressed none. It 
seemed to me the time of all others for a man in my 
position to hold his tongue and prepare for the serious 
work I felt was in store for all of us, I begged them all 
to await quietly the finding of the board that had been 
ordered to investigate the whole matter, which I felt 
sure would be painstaking and thorough. But I could 
see, from the set faces of those Southern chaps, and the 
quiet, determined way in which they spoke, that some- 
body was going to get whipped because the Maine had 
been blown up. When I had visited Galveston and 
found the same smouldering volcano there, I was 
strengthened in my conviction that if the authorities 
then in power did not declare war, they would be 
turned out and others put in who would. I felt that if 
the action of our admiral had been different — and it 

405 



A Sailor's Log 

probably "would have been had he been younger and 
not so sick — time at least would have been saved. 
If he had gone into Havana the morning after the dis- 
aster with his whole fleet and said to General Blanco 
that he had come to lind out why these American offi- 
cers and men, the guests of Spain, had been foully mur- 
dered, it would, in my opinion, have produced imme- 
diate results and saved much time. 

About the middle of March I again arrived at Key 
West on my way back to Washington, and was struck 
with the weakness of our fleet in the way of torpedo- 
boat destroyers and guard boats. If war should sud- 
denly come, and it looked as if it might at any moment, 
an enterprising enemy, with the Spanish torpedo ves- 
sels known to be in and about Cuba, could seriously 
damage if not destroy our entire force in a single 
night. I hurried on to Washington, determined to 
give Mr. Long my views on the subject. Fortunately, 
he sent for me the day of my arrival, and, having heard 
patiently and with deep interest what I had to say to 
him, at once, with the assistance of Mr. Roosevelt, 
proceeded to apply the only possible remedy. He or- 
dered the purchase of a number of fast yachts and tugs 
in New York and other ports and directed that they 
be armed with all despatch and hurried off to Key 
West. 

While I stood talking with him he gave direc- 
tions to detach Admiral Sicard, who was condemned 
by medical survey, from command of the squadron, and 
order Captain Sampson to relieve him. Then, turn- 
ing to me, he said, in his quiet, forcible way: " Now, 
captain, I have a surprise for you. I am going to order 

406 



Preparing for War 

you to relieve Sampson in command of the Iowa. How 
soon can you start?" I .had only arrived in the city 
five hours before, but feeling as I did the importance 
of not losing time, replied that I could leave for Key 
West at 4 p. m. that day, which I did. When trouble 
with Spain first threatened I had asked that if war 
came I might be ordered to command the St. Paul in 
case she was taken into the service. I was therefore 
much gratified to command the finest battle ship in 
the navy. 

I arrived at Key West as soon as steam could get 
me there, and went at once to the Iowa, then lying 
with the other large vessels off Sand Key light, about 
eight miles from the town. It was a time of intense 
excitement. We all felt that war was sure to come, 
and we were anxious to have it done with, and there- 
fore the sooner it came the better. That we were 
not as ready for it as we should have been was not our 
fault; what the navy itself could do we had done, and 
we felt confident that we could do the Spanish fleet 
up in an hour if it would come out in the open sea 
and give us a chance, but we knew it would never 
do that. It was borne in upon me that the worst use 
you could put a navy to was fighting, and the best, 
keeping the peace, yet we were about to be driven to 
the former because our naval force was and had been 
too small for the latter. 

Admiral Sampson spared neither himself nor his 
officers and men in his preparations for the coming 
struggle — work was incessant day and night. Drills 
of all kinds were indulged in, but target firing was con- 
sidered the most important one of all. Day by day we 
27 407 



A Sailor's Log 

wasted Government ammunition, as some of the yellow 
newspapers had it, and no end of targets were destroyed. 
Night after night the torpedo boats had their try at 
us, that our men might know what the real thing would 
look like when it came. Coal bunkers and magazines 
were kept constantly full, as well as bread rooms and 
storerooms. In the meantime the admiral constantly 
conferred with his commanding officers, and with their 
assistance drew up a complete plan for the attack and 
capture of the city and defences of Havana. Our offi- 
cers who had been in Cuba recently knew every fort 
about the city and the number and calibre of guns in 
each, and with this information in our hands, we knew 
just what we had to meet. 

Sampson believed, and we agreed with him, that 
the thing to do, as soon as war was declared, was to 
strike quick and strike hard; but such was not to be 
our good fortune. The Secretary thought highly of 
tlie plans which were submitted to him, but, for reasons 
which he no doubt considered convincing, decided 
against them, in favour of a close blockade. I have 
always thought that we could have captured or de- 
stroyed Havana two days after the declaration of war, 
and it is my belief that this of itself would have ended 
the struggle in a very short time, and that Cervera's 
fleet would not have crossed the Atlantic. I make 
this statement with a full knowledge of what we hail 
to encounter and after close study of the situation, 
which afterward changed very rapidly and was entirely 
different when General Blanco had strongly fortified 
the entrance. 

In the early days of April the newly purchased 
408 



A Base Wanted 

yachts and tugs began to arrive at Key West, and it 
would have been amusing, if the matter had been less 
serious, to see the value placed on these improvised 
guard boats. It was simply because we had no tor- 
pedo-boat destroyers, and officers of experience knew 
the danger of attack from the coast of Cuba. So these 
new arrivals were put to work at once, some of them 
on guard duty at night and others towing stores and 
coal from Key West, eight miles away, to the fighting 
ships, which were anchored in the open sea off Sand 
Key light. As a base of supplies, in a military sense, 
Key West was at this time an absolute and utter failure, 
because we had no supplies for war, either there or any- 
where else, and the necessary shops and machines were 
not on hand. A few officers were working their hearts 
out over the same old impossible scheme of boring a 
two-inch hole with a one-inch auger, only in this case 
the auger seemed to all of us like a very small gimlet. 
However, we did manage somehow to keep the ships in 
a fair state of preparation, and as the days went by we 
felt that the important thing of all — our men — was 
most satisfactory. They were as fit and ready as men 
ever were, or could be, and only waited the chance to 
prove it to the country and the world. 



409 



CHAPTER XXXV 

THE HAVANA BLOCKADE 

The tension grew greater and the excitement and 
strain harder to bear as the month advanced, until the 
20th of April came, when we knew from the Washing- 
ton despatches that the critical moment had arrived. 
During the evening of the 2ist all the commanding 
officers of the outside fleet were summoned on board 
the flagship for consultation, and there we remained 
until nearly midnight, wailing for the message we felt 
sure must come before daylight. Some of us prepared 
to return to our vessels about ten o'clock, but Sampson 
requested us to remain. So over our fresh cigars we 
sat and listened to the quiet words of our clear-headed 
commander, while the wind howled and the ship 
pitched and rolled in the choppy sea. Just before mid- 
night a naval cadet came to the cabin and reported a 
torpedo boat coming out at high speed, and in a few 
minutes a staff oflficer handed the admiral a telegram 
from President McKinley, which he immediately read 
to his assembled commanders. It said: "War de- 
clared; proceed to blockade the coast of Cuba." etc., 
etc. — Then, with serious, thoughtful faces, we said 
good-night to the admiral and each other, and returned 

410 



Off for Cuba 

to our ships. The expected had happened this time 
at least. 

When I reached the Iowa, about midnight, all of 
the officers and most of the crew were on deck wait- 
ing to hear the news. I told them in a few words, and 
for half an hour I could hear the low hum of conversa- 
tion among the men, then perfect silence fore and aft. 
The signal lights of the New York glinted and winked 
as the signal officers transmitted the order to be ready 
to get under way at daylight. The assistant chief of 
staff was sent into the inner harbour with orders for 
the vessels assembled there to come out as fast as pos- 
sible, and by one o'clock they began to appear. I say 
they began to appear, but in reality we could only see 
the long, ghostlike beams of their search lights as they 
felt about for the buoys of the difficult channel. Be- 
fore daylight every vessel of the fleet was under way, 
formed in double column, and headed for the coast of 
Cuba. In less than four hours from the receipt of the 
order the navy showed its state of readiness by actually 
starting for the enemy's coast. Fortunately for the 
country, we were m much better shape than the people 
thought we were. 

Everything was done to the ships in the way of pro- 
tection that careful thought and long experience could 
suggest. Those of us who had been in battle before 
were aware of the idiosyncrasies of shot and shell — how 
they were apt to strike just in the spot where they 
were most unwelcome — and we therefore protected the 
soft places with such material as came to hand. I had 
taken on board the Iowa many tons of sand in bags, and 
these I had used where I thought they would do the 

411 



A Sailor's Log 

most good. I had also unshackled our heavy sheet- 
anchor chains and wound them carefully around the 
exposed ammunition hoists, a job that took over a week 
of as hard work as I ever saw men do. In a word, 
everything had been done to make the ships ready for 
the ordeal they had to face. 

At seven o'clock on the morning of April 22(1, as we 
were standing on our course for Havana, a steamer was 
made out to the westward heading toward us with the 
Spanish flag flying. The Nashville was signalled to 
capture her, and in a few minutes that vessel had fired 
the first gun of the war and had taken the first prize. 
In the late afternoon the land about Havana was made 
out in the distance, and every preparation was made for 
battle in case the enemy fired on us. Shortly after we 
sighted the land, a vessel was seen well inshore at- 
tempting to escape to the eastward, and the New York 
left her place in column and gave chase, at the same 
time flying the signal, " Disregard movements of the 
commander in chief! " 

I, as next in rank to Sampson, hoisted the guide 
flag, and, as senior officer present, held the fleet to its 
course direct for the Morro Castle at the entrance to 
the harbour of Havana. The New York soon ran out 
of sight, and I saw nothing more of her until about two 
o'clock the next morning, when she rejoined, having 
in the meantime captured the Spanish steamer Pedro 
and sent her into Key West with a prize crew. When 
we could make out clearly the lighthouse on the 
Morro, I formed the fleet in double column, with the 
lighter vessel double distance to the left, in order to 
bring them closer to the shore after I had established 

412 



Blockade Established 

the blockade, and in this order continued on my 
course with all hands at the guns ready to return any 
fire that we might receive. We had orders not to 
bring on an engagement, but I did not consider that 
this order would apply in case the Spaniards fired on 
us. When the Iowa was about five miles from the 
Morro Castle, I made signal, ''Head of columns right!" 
and, as the signal went up, I saw the flash of a gun on 
shore, and then others, until five had been fired. I gave 
the order to stand by to fire, and cautioned those about 
me to watch carefully for the splash of a shot ; but, un- 
fortunately, none came; they were only signal guns to 
announce our arrival. I continued on my way and es- 
tabHshed the blockade, and night settled down. Gener- 
al Blanco and the city of Havana were in a grip that was 
to make them very tired and hungry before it relaxed. 
Our first night on the blockade was very exciting 
work. I had made up my mind that the Spaniards 
would attempt something in the way of a torpedo at- 
tack that night. It was the logical thing for them to 
do, and it is possible that they might have met with 
some success if they had been bold and daring. I was 
on the bridge during the entire night, and if I saw one 
torpedo boat I saw a thousand! Every breaking sea 
was to my imagination a torpedo boat. I had the fleet 
standing to the westward toward Mariel, and at one 
o'clock in the morning it became necessary to turn 
about and cruise slowly back toward the Morro. The 
night was intensely dark, and not a sound could be 
heard or a ship seen in any direction. As I made the 
preparatory signal from the bridge of the Iowa the an- 
swering hghts flashed out, and there they were, the 

413 



A Sailor's Log 

whole fleet in two long lines, as if tied on strings. They 
turned promptly at the siy^nal and stood back in the 
direction indicated. Between two and three o'clock in 
the morning the New York rejoined, and the responsi- 
bility of command passed to the able shoulders where 
it belonged. 

For ten days the Iowa, in common wilii the others, 
rolled and pitched in the trade-wind seas, watching the 
Spanish army, while new forts were built and new guns 
placed in position. At night we hauled ofT a few miles, 
so that our torpedo boats and guard vessels could have 
a fair chance at anything that came out. About day- 
light in the morning I steamed in and took my place in 
plain sight of the city and within easy range of the bat- 
teries, if any one wanted to try a shot at me; but the 
shot never came. It would not have been wise on the 
part of General Blanco to provoke the fire of the battle 
ships with their twelve- and thirteen-inch guns. 

One afternoon, just before sundown, I saw with my 
glass two very trim-looking Spanish gunboats coming 
out of the harbour. They turned to the east and 
.steamed along close to the shore, evidently much ad- 
mired by the great mass of people I could see crowding 
the docks on the water front. After a short time the 
little chaps turned and steamed to the west toward 
Mariel. I signalled Mackenzie, who was near me in 
the Mayflower, to stand by to chase and at the same 
time gave orders to bottle up steam on the Iowa. 
When I thought there was a chance to cut them ofl^, 
I made the signal to chase, and headed straight for the 
entrance at full speed. Mackenzie dashed in like a 
shot ofl" a shovel, and for a few moments it looked as if 

414 





, i 



Ordered to Puerto Rico 

we might nab them, but they saw us the moment we 
started and put for home with all the speed they could 
make. When they entered the harbour I could no 
doubt have reached them with my heavy guns, but 
they were not of much consequence, and I did not 
fancy the idea of sending a shell into the mass of 
women and children on shore. We were within easy 
range of the forts, and I did hope that they would give 
us a chance to pay our respects to them, but they re- 
mained quiet, though we could see the men about the 
guns. The gunboats never came out again while I 
remained on the Havana blockade. 

During the early days of May I ran over to Key 
West, filled up with coal, and was back at my station 
during the night. The following morning at daylight 
I made out a tugboat coming out from the land with 
the signal flying, *' Send a boat! " which was unusual if 
not cheeky. I examined her carefully with my glasses 
and discovered an officer on board in cavalry uniform. 
It turned out to be Colonel Dorst, of the United States 
army. He had landed some Cubans and a company of 
our men during the night, but the Spaniards had sur- 
rounded them, and the colonel explained to me that un- 
less I went to their assistance his men would probably 
be killed or captured. While I was talking with him, the 
New York came in sight, steaming very fast, with the 
signal flying, " Iowa steer east by south, speed eleven 
knots! " I told Dorst that Sampson would no doubt 
send a gunboat to look after his party, which he did, 
and I started immediately in obedience to the signal, 
which I knew meant business of some sort. It was the 
starting of the expedition to San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

415 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

THE CRUISE TO SAN JUAN 

The Iowa, Indiana, and New York ran all day to 
the eastward, and at sundown that evening met the 
other vessels that had been directed to rendezvous off 
Cruz del Padre light on the north coast of Cuba. 
News had come from Washington that Admiral Cer- 
vera had sailed with the Spanish fleet from the Cape de 
Verde Islands, and it was plain to all of us that Samp- 
son's fleet should be well to the eastward to meet him 
if he attempted to pass through the West Indies, either 
to threaten our coast or enter a port on the north side 
of Cuba. The natural place for him to go to recoal 
and repair his ships was San Juan, Puerto Rico, where 
there were stores and machine shops, and Sampson 
had every reason to expect to find him there. It 
turned out afterward that Cervera was bound for San 
Juan, and had it not been for the unexpectedly low 
speed of his torpedo boats we should have found liim 
there on May 12th. As it was, he received the news 
of the bombardment of San Juan when ofT Martinique 
and shaped his course for Cura^oa. and thus escaped. 
We all thought that we had given him ample time to 
reach his destination. Twelve hours more and we 

416 



Arrival at San Juan 

should have trapped him at San Juan instead of at 
Santiago. 

When we reached the appointed rendezvous, late 
in the evening, we found there, among other ships, two 
monitors — the Terror and the Amphitrite. As they 
could not carry coal enough to steam to our destina- 
tion, they were taken in tow. I was directed to tow 
the Amphitrite with the Iowa. The sea was very 
smooth, and we were soon pulHng her along at nine 
knots, but before the job was finished I wished I had 
never seen a monitor. When once out from under 
the protection of the shoals the sea began to rise, and 
soon everything in the way of towlines had been parted, 
and it was only when we slowed down to seven knots 
or less that we could make anything hold. We found 
ourselves in the open sea looking for an enemy who 
could steam at the speed of sixteen to eighteen knots 
while we could barely maintain seven. The prospect 
of catching him was not very bright. However, we 
were doing our best with the tools the Government had 
given us to work with. After many vexatious delays, 
we arrived off the north coast of Puerto Rico on the 
afternoon of May nth, and at sundown Admiral Samp- 
son transferred his flag to the Iowa and notified 
me that I should have the honour of leading in the 
battle which we hoped would be fought the follow- 
ing day. 

At daylight on May 12th the high land and forts 
about San Juan could be dimly seen. The fleet was in 
battle order and every ship ready to open fire. Slowly 
the Iowa steamed in until she was fairly within range of 
all the guns, when I stopped the engines and waited 

417 



A Sailor's Log 

until we could see clearly everything in the harbour. 
The forts, as well as the city, seemed to be sleeping 
soundly, and there was nothing to indicate that the 
Spaniards expected or suspected our unfriendly visit. 
Our glasses soon disclosed the fact that Cervcra was 
not there. 

To give our men practice and season them a bit 
for what was to come. Admiral Sampson decided to 
bombard the batteries. I was standing by him on 
the bridge when he gave me permission to open fire. 
I stepped to the nearest six-pounder and ordered the 
captain of the gun to fire at the lighthouse tower 
with an elevation of twenty-six hundred yards, which 
he did, and I saw the shell explode near the base of the 
tower. I then gave the range to the whole battery as 
twenty-five hundred yards, with directions to fire at the 
Morro fort, and immediately ordered the bugler at my 
elbow to sound " Commence firing! " In a few seconds 
the whole starboard battery was firing rapidly, and, as 
the Indiana and other ships astern of us took it up. the 
roar became deafening. It was fully five minutes after 
we opened ])cfore any reply came from the shore, and 
during this time I could see the shells bursting and 
kicking up great clouds of dust and smoke as they 
struck or exploded in and about the batteries. Finally, 
when we were about one thousand yards from the 
Morro fort, a battery well back on the hill opened fire 
and several shells passed over us. I at once directed 
our guns on this battery, which did not respond .so 
long as we were firing at them. In the meantime 
many other guns had opened on us. but those of the 
Morro fort remained silent, until two hours later, when 

418 



A Bombardment 

we were hauling off. Our fire had been so severe that 
this particular fort could not respond. 

In order to define our firing line, the admiral had 
ordered a boat anchored off the entrance to the har- 
bour on the edge of the shoal to mark the point where 
we were to begin, and the Detroit was sent in to a 
point about eight hundred yards from the batteries 
to mark the edge of the shoal at that point, and be- 
tween these two we were to steam, turning out as 
we passed close to the latter and coming on to the 
firing line again as we approached the former. Thus 
the fleet was to move in an ellipse until the signal 
to draw off was given. As we approached the Detroit 
for the first time the smoke was blinding, as there 
was no wind to blow it away. I ordered the rapid- 
fire guns to cease firing and continue to use the guns 
of the main battery, which eased the situation at once, 
and, as the smoke cleared, the sight was one long 
to be remembered. The Spanish batteries were all 
paying more or less attention to the Detroit, and the 
shells were cutting the water up all about her and 
bursting over her. Captain Dayton, who commanded 
her, was handling her beautifully, and her crew was 
making her five-inch rapid-fire guns roar and blaze. 
She was simply magnificent, a veritable spitfire. After 
we had passed over the firing line the second time 
she was signalled to change her position and draw 
off somewhat, but Dayton took a long time to answer 
the signal, and withdrew with great reluctance. We 
were much relieved when he signalled that he had 
escaped without injury. If I had had the power I 
would have changed the name of the Detroit that 

419 



A Sailors Log 

morning; I would have painted " Gamecock " on her 
stern, and kept it there as long as she remained afloat. 
When the Iowa turned from the firing line for 
the second time, the Spanish fire became very steady 
and accurate. For a few minutes, until the Indiana 
and New York got to work on them, it was the best 
shooting I saw the Spanish artillery do during the war. 
Just after we turned and were steaming away from 
them I heard a shell coming, and an instant afterward it 
came into our upper deck and ex])loded with a sharp 
ringing report. The projectile, a Krupp armour 
piercer, passed through a steel beam and exploded 
under the boats, knocking the bottoms out of two of 
them and badly wrecking the third. The deck was 
filled with smoke, and I expected to find serious loss of 
life when it cleared up. The men to the number of one 
hundred or more were standing about in groups watch- 
ing the fight when the smoke hid them from view. 
Many of them had their caps blown off by the explo- 
sion, and, as the smoke blew away, they were laughing 
and joking while they brushed the dust from their 
clothes. Everything about the deck was ripped and 
torn by fragments of the shell, but not a man was even 
scratched. The bottom of the sailing launch was badly 
wrecked, and a large fragment of shell completely de- 
stroyed the boat box, which contained an outfit of vari- 
ous articles. The small American flag belonging to 
the boat was blown out of the box and spread on the 
rail, it being the only thing left. It was not damaged 
in the least. I afterward gave it to President McKin- 
ley as a souvenir of the fight. Two more shells came in 
rapid succession, and both exploded in the supcrstruc- 

420 



A Lesson under Fire 

ture. They were perfectly placed and showed that the 
enemy had our range accurately. Three men were 
wounded by the second, these being my only casualties 
during the day. We were much cut up and marked 
about the upper works, but no serious damage was 
done. The escape of our men was simply marvellous. 

As we made the third round on the firing line, the 
return fire from the batteries was very weak, and it 
was plain to me that the city could be captured if we 
continued our bombardment a few hours longer. I 
counted nine places where fire had broken out on shore 
as the result of our exploding shells, and I felt sure that 
if we turned our guns on the city we could compel 
its surrender or destroy it in a short time. So far the 
only damage to the town was caused by a few wild 
shots due to the rolling of the ships in the trade swell. 
There had been no orders to fire at anything except 
the batteries, but, as they were very close to the town, 
some damage was unavoidably done to it. After we 
had been in action about two hours and a half, signal 
was made to withdraw; and as the fleet passed out of 
and beyond the range of the enemy's guns, Spanish 
flags were hoisted on all the forts and a furious but 
harmless fire kept up as long as we could see them. 

Our men had received just what they most needed 
— practical demonstration of the fact that it required a 
great many shots to seriously injure a modern ship, and 
that every shell fired was not going to kill each indi- 
vidual man who heard it screaming over his head. Our 
experience that morning was of immense value to all 
hands, but particularly to those who were under fire for 
the first time. If we had had sufficient force to hold 

421 



A Sailor's Log 

San Juan, it would undoubtedly have been taken that 
day; but such was not the case, and we could not wait 
for the arrival of troops, even if they had been available 
for the purpose. Admiral Cervcra was somewhere in 
the West Indies, and it was our business to get between 
him and our base of supplies at Key West as soon as 
possible. We knew that we had no time to spare, and 
I, as well as other commanding officers, advised Admiral 
Sampson to get to the westward with all possible de- 
spatch. 



422 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON 

After dark on the 12th of May I took my monitor 
in tow and we began our vexatious return trip to 
the Gulf of Mexico. Admiral Sampson was convinced 
that the Spanish fleet would make for Santiago or 
Havana, with chances in favour of the former place. 
When we had arrived off the north coast of Hayti a 
torpedo boat brought the news that they were at Cura- 
goa, and shortly afterward I was left in command of the 
fleet, with orders to get the ships to their various sta- 
tions on the blockade as rapidly as possible, while the 
flagship hurried on to Key West with all speed. Had 
it not been for the monitors the problem would have 
been easy to solve, but with them to tow, and all hands 
short of coal, it was most difificult. 

During the afternoon of May 17th, as we were pass- 
ing in sight of Manzanillo lighthouse, I discovered two 
Spanish gunboats close inshore, evidently making for 
Nuevitas. As I could not go after them myself with- 
out casting ofif my monitor, and thus losing valuable 
time, I made signal to the Montgomery, Commander 
Converse commanding, to give chase. The way he 
made those two gunboats hunt a hole was beautiful 
to see. They disappeared behind the land, and to my 
28 423 



A Sailor's Log 

great concern Converse did tlie same in liot pursuit. 
After a few minutes I saw him open fire with one bat- 
tery and then with both, firing very rapidly. Fearing 
that he was in trouble, 1 signalled the Indiana, Captain 
Taylor, to go to his assistance. As the battle ship 
turned out of column to obey the signal, the Mont- 
gomery came out of the narrow channel stern first at 
full speed, having been handled from first to last in 
the most gallant and seamanlike way. 1 called Con- 
verse within hail and told him what I thought of him 
and his crew. 

At eight o'clock in the evening, as we were enter- 
ing the Bahama Channel, during a vicious black rain 
squall, the keen-eyed lookouts of the Iowa made out a 
torpedo boat coming toward us at top speed. She 
soon made her night signal and proved to be the Du- 
pont. with Commander Kimball, commanding the tor- 
pedo flotilla. He had orders for me to cast olT my 
monitor and get to Key West as soon as steam could 
take me there, as there v.'as important work for my ship 
to do. I cast off the Amphitrite. signalled the Mont- 
gomery to take her in tow, and Captain Taylor to as- 
sume command of the squadron, and went below to 
my cabin with Kimball to read the despatches which 
he had in his hand. 

We seated ourselves at the cabin table and I was 
deeply interested in Cervcra's movements, when I heard 
a startled voice exclaim, "Look-out, captain!" I 
threw my head to one side to see what I was to look 
out for, when there was a tremendous crash and I 
was aware that I was hurt and more or less dazed. 
My first impression was that one of the Spanish gun- 

424 



A Singular Accident 

boats had sneaked up on us and put a shell into my 
cabin. I had been thinking all the afternoon what 
a fine chance it would be for them that night; but 
when I was really conscious I saw that that was not the 
trouble. My cabin was full of men, all staring at me, 
their eyes fairly sticking out of their heads. They 
thought I was killed, and wanted to see the last of the 
'' old man." I was soon aware that one of the doctors 
was feeling and twisting my right arm and that my 
right shoulder was in pretty bad shape. Through it 
all I was very sorry for Kimball, who, I thought, was 
surely killed, and I was greatly relieved when I heard 
his voice, which sounded a mile away. 

The accident was soon explained. The men were 
running in the steel hawser, which we had been using 
to tow the monitor, and it had picked up the steel battle 
hatch, weighing something over four hundred pounds, 
which was lying on deck ready to be put on the cabin 
hatch when needed. The line had carried it along until 
it came directly over the hatch under which I was sit- 
ting, when it slipped ofl, came down edge first, and 
caught me on the shoulder instead of the head. The 
man who called to me to look out held on to it in his 
effort to stop it, and came down with it. My shoulder 
was badly mashed and dislocated, but the excellent 
medical men soon wiped the blood off, reduced the dis- 
location, bandaged my arm to my side, and turned me 
in with a stiff glass of grog under my belt. The only 
serious damage was to the cabin table, which was no 
longer fit for use. If my head had been four inches 
farther forward, I should never have had the pleasure 
of writing this book. 

425 



A Sailor's Log 

The Iowa arrived at Key West after sundown May 
i8th and anchored near the flagship New York. The 
flying squadron, Commodore Schley commanding, was 
at anchor in the immediate vicinity. Coal and ammu- 
nition lighters were brought alongside at once, and all 
night long my willing men shovelled away and stowed 
bread and powder. Sampson came on board to see me 
and urged me to my best efforts, as he wished the Iowa 
ready at the first possible moment to join Schley. 
Early on the 19th the flying squadron sailed for Cien- 
fuegos and my men tugged away at the coal whips, 
scarcely taking time to eat. During the night of the 
19th it was very rough, and by daylight officers and 
men were about worn out, but with a rest of only an 
hour we went at it again, determined to do all that 
men could do to carry out the wishes of our commander 
in chief. 

At eleven o'clock Sampson signalled me, " You 
must go now, cast off lighters, show yourself off 
Havana before sundown, and then proceed with all 
possible despatch to Cienfuegos and report to Com- 
modore Schley." At the same time he sent my written 
orders and official mail for the commander of the flying 
squadron. In ten minutes I was under way and stand- 
ing out to sea with my decks piled waist-high with 
boxes of provisions and ammunition, while the whole 
ship was black with coal dust, and the officers and men 
looked like a gang of chimney-sweeps. Just as the 
sun was setting I slowed and stopped my engines about 
two miles from the Morro lighthouse, and remained in 
that position until it was fairly dark, when I rang the 
engines full speed ahead, and at twelve knots speed 

426 



The Flying Squadron 

steered my course for Cape San Antonio at the west 
end of Cuba. 

In the forenoon of the following day, when nearly 
up with the cape, I found the torpedo boat Dupont 
thrashing about in the heavy sea and her command- 
ing officer unable to make out his position. I gave 
him his bearings, and he was off at once to deliver his 
orders to Commodore Schley. We had no despatch 
boats, properly speaking, and these delicate torpedo 
boats had to be used for the purpose. It was like 
ploughing a stumpy field with a carefully groomed and 
trained thoroughbred horse. On Sunday, May 22d, at 
1.30 p. M., I stopped my engines two hundred yards 
astern of the Brooklyn, of¥ Cienfuegos, Cuba, and, as 
my arm was still bandaged to my side, sent my execu- 
tive officer on board to report the ship to Commodore 
Schley for duty in his squadron, and at the same time 
deliver him the official mail I had received from Ad- 
miral Sampson for him. I had, about 1.15 p. m., sa- 
luted the flag of the commodore. It was thus that I 
became a part of the much-talked-of and discussed 
flying squadron. 

On May 23d I took in two hundred and fifty-five 
tons of coal from a collier between the hours of 10 
A. M. and 6.30 p. M., besides giving coal to a torpedo 
boat. During the night it was reported to me that 
there were three white lights in line on shore, which 
I knew was the signal from the insurgents that they 
wished to communicate. I, of course, took it for 
granted that the commodore understood this signal 
as well as I did, otherwise I should have informed him of 
its significance. It appeared afterward that he did not ; 

427 



A Sailor's Log 

and thus iiiiich valuable time was lost. On the morning 
of the 24lh the IMarblehead arrived, and the moment 
Commander McCalla heard of the three lights he went 
in and communicated, and in a few hours Schley 
knew that the Spanish llect was not in Cienfuegos. 

In the meantime I had received a draft of thirty- 
seven men from the Marblehead, most of them re- 
cruits from Detroit, Michigan. At 7.55 that even- 
ing the scjuadron got under way and went to sea, bound 
for Santiago. During the 25th and 26th we steamed 
along slowly, at times making as low as five knots in 
order to allow the Eagle, a small converted yacht, to 
keep company with us. She was bothered by the 
roughness of the sea, which did not trouble the larger 
vessels. The Brooklyn or Iowa could have towed her 
ten knots or more without difficulty. At times we 
steamed eight or nine knots, which was the greatest 
speed we made during the trip. At 5.25 p. m., May 
26th, we stopped our engines at a point twenty-six to 
thirty miles to the south of Santiago, and there re- 
mained four hours or more in communication with 
the St. Paul, the Yale, and the Minneapolis. The air 
was very clear and the high mountains back of San- 
tiago could be seen, but nothing else. No attempt 
was made, so far as I know, to determine whether the 
Spanish fleet was in the harbour or not. At 7.50 p. m. 
the commodore made the following general signal to 
the squadron: " Destination Key West, via south side 
of Cuba and Yucatan channel, as soon as collier is 
ready; speed nine knots." At 9.10 we went ahead 
at nine knots' speed, heading west, bound, as I sup- 
posed from the signal, for Key West. 

428 



Bewildering Orders 

All hands on the Iowa were greatly surprised at 
this unexpected retreat, and I for one was absolutely in 
the dark as to its meaning, I felt reasonably sure that 
Cervera was in Santiago, but concluded that the com- 
modore had better information than I on that point. 
My natural inference was that the Spanish ships had 
left Santiago and gone to the westward, and that we 
were going after them. This inference was completely 
wrong, for after two hours we stopped again and drifted 
about until noon of the following day, while some of the 
vessels took coal from the collier. Then we stood on to 
the west again, occasionally stopping, until 1.25 p. m., 
May 28th, when we were signalled to steer east, one 
half north, and steam six knots per hour. Thus we 
headed back in the direction of Santiago. 

As there had been no conference of commanding 
officers, we were all completely bewildered as to what 
this peculiar manoeuvring might mean. Some of us, 
remembering the fate of Admiral Byng, felt that if 
Cervera was really in Santiago and got one of his ships 
away and on to the coast of the United States, while 
we were tinkering at the machinery of a collier, the 
world might be startled by another dreadful court- 
martial sentence. 



429 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

FIGHTING AT LONG RANGE 

At 7.40 r. M., May 28th, the squadron stopped off 
tlie entrance to the harbour of Santiago, distant there- 
from about nine miles. During the night we steamed 
slowly back and forth, closing in somewhat before day- 
light. At early dawn I was standing on the bridge 
with the executive officer, Lieutenant-Commander 
Rodgers, who had been our naval attacJie at Madrid 
and who knew every vessel in the Spanish navy. As 
we stood straining our eyes for what we hoped we 
might see, he suddenly turned on me and said, " Cap- 
tain, there's the Cristobal Colon!" In a moment 
1 caught her with my glasses lying moored in front of 
the Punta Gorda battery in a position to command the 
channel. The information was quickly flagged to the 
Brooklyn, and in a second or two the answer came back, 
" I understand." Then we made out another Spanish 
ship and a torpedo boat and flagged this information 
at once. Again the answer came back, " I under- 
stand." 

In the meantime I had gone to general quarters 
and loaded the heavy guns, hoping that we might 
have a chance to use them on the Colon as she lay 
helpless and at our mercy, but such was not to be 

430 



Cervera Discovered 

our luck. We steamed about in front of the harbour 
until a signal was made during the forenoon for com- 
manding officers to repair on board the flagship. Then 
the fleet stopped while the commodore and his com- 
manders discussed the situation. The details of this 
conference I am not at liberty to give, but I may say 
without impropriety that Commodore Schley was at / 
last satisfied that Cervera's fleet was in Santiago Har- 
bour and not in Cienfuegos. We continued to steam 
about in front of the place during Sunday, Monday, 
and Tuesday, while the Colon, with fires hauled and 
awnings spread, lay in plain sight, quietly watching us. 

At 1 1. 20 A. M., May 31st, Commodore Schley made 
this signal to the squadron: " The Massachusetts, New 
Orleans, and Iowa will go in after dinner to a distance 
of seven thousand yards and fire at Cristobal Colon 
with eight- and twelve- and thirteen-inch guns. Speed 
about ten knots." At 1.25 p. m. the three ships men- 
tioned formed column, the Massachusetts leading, 
showing the broad pennant of Commodore Schley; the 
New Orleans, a vessel purchased in England and with 
a new crew came second; and the Iowa last. The sec- 
ond-class battle-ship Texas, the splendid armoured 
cruiser Brooklyn, and the gunboat Marblehead, were 
spectators of the fight that followed. 

The Massachusetts opened fire at 1.50, her first 
thirteen-inch shell striking the water outside the Morro, 
as I judged about two thousand yards short of the Co- 
lon. I therefore set my gun sights at eighty-five hun- 
dred yards and at 1.56 opened fire as soon as the Colon 
could be seen. All the projectiles fell short, though our 
guns were elevated to nine thousand yards. The har- 

431 



A Sailor's Log 

hour entrance was so narrow and our speed so great we 
could only fire a few shots before the Spanish ship was 
shut out by the land. At 2.01 I ceased firing. Tlie 
Massachusetts in the meantime had turned with port 
helm away from the land, and thus materially increased 
the distance from the Colon. She opened fire again at 
2.05, and the commodore made this signal: " Do not 
go in any closer." When I had turned the Iowa and 
could see the Colon, I decreased my speed and opened 
fire at 2.08, range ninety-five hundred yards, which I 
gradually increased to eleven thousand as I saw the 
shells falling short. At 2.16 the commodore signalled, 
" Cease firing," and the battle was over. Nobody had 
been struck, Spaniard or American. Two battle ships 
and a cruiser on our side had engaged one cruiser and a 
few guns mounted on shore on the Spanish side for 
about fifteen minutes and then drew off. The only 
cause we had for congratulation was the fact that no- 
body was hurt. I had all four of my twelve-inch guns 
disabled by damage to the dash pots from high-angle 
fire, but they were repaired long before we had any real 
necessity to use them. 

Commodore Schley transferred his flag back to 
the Brooklyn at 2.50 p. m., the enemy ceased firing 
at 3.10, and we resumed our peaceful cruising up and 
down in front of the entrance to the harbour. Captain 
Moreau of the Colon told me weeks afterward that 
the last large shell from the Iowa struck about forty 
feet short of him, and when it exploded a small piece 
of it found its way into his cabin, and that he retained 
it as a souvenir of the day. This he said was the near- 
est any [)r(»jcctilc came to striking his ship. 

432 



Volunteers Wanted 

On June ist Admiral Sampson arrived early in the 
morning, and after steaming well in toward the Morro 
made signal, " Come closer." From that hour the 
blockade of Santiago was so maintained that it Vv^as 
not possible for any vessel to escape. Orders were 
issued that if the enemy's ships attempted to escape 
we should close in at once and force them ashore or 
sink them; and these orders were posted on the bridge 
of the Iowa, and, I assume, on other ships also, so that 
even the signal boys knew what was to be done when 
we sighted them. 

Preparations were at once begun for sinking the 
Merrimac in the channel, which was done in the most 
gallant and daring manner by Assistant Naval Con- 
structor Hobson on the morning of June 3d, about half 
an hour before daylight. During the afternoon of June 
2d Sampson had signalled me, " I want volunteers to 
sink the Merrimac." I gave the signal to the executive 
ofBcer, with directions to read it to the crew and give 
me the names of those who wished to go. In a short 
time he came to me and said that all the officers had 
volunteered, and also the entire crew of six hundred 
men. It was something of a job to write down all 
their names, and, as I was sure only a few could be re- 
quired, I signalled: " My entire crew has volunteered. 
How many men do you want? " The answer came back 
promptly, " I want one seaman from the Iowa." The 
question then was how to select one man out of six 
hundred good ones. I was naturally anxious to send a 
man who would die reflecting credit on the ship. I 
had no idea that any one would ever come out of the 
scrape alive. 

433 



A Sailor's Log 

Two men were selected, one by me and one by 
the executive officer. I took a petty officer named 
McLean, who had served with me in the Yorktown, 
a first-class man in every respect; the executive took 
a young seaman named Murphy, a native of the State 
of Maine, also first-class in every way. When told 
that I was going to sentence one of them to death in 
a few minutes, and being asked if they still wanted to 
go in the Merrimac, they both smiled and said " Yes." 
McLean offered Murphy fifty dollars for his chance, 
which was promptly declined, and the toss of a penny 
decided the case in Murphy's favour. Then McLean 
offered him one hundred and fifty dollars for his chance, 
which was also promptly declined, and the poor fellow 
went forward with the tears streaming out of his eyes 
because he had lo'-t a chance to have his head shot ofT! 
They were fine fellows to tie to, those blue-shirted 
chaps of mine. 

The position of the Iowa on the blockading line 
was directly ofif the entrance of the harbour, so that we 
could look straight up the channel as far as the Punta 
Gorda battery, and in this position I and my men lived 
from June ist until July 3d. I was absent but one 
day, when I ran up to Guantanamo Bay for coal, and 
was back at my station at night. We took coal and 
food and ammunition on the blockading line, and, as 
I have said, did not leave it until the necessity for a 
blockade ceased to exist. The infernal place got to 
look like home to us; we almost knew the sharks and 
fishes that swam around us. Certainly we knew the 
batteries and just when we might expect to hear from 
them. 

434 



Hobson's Exploit 

It was from this position that I watched the Mer- 
rimac make her last trip on the morning of June 3d. 
During the night of the 2d I caught sight of her 
several times, but it was nearly daylight when I saw 
her distinctly as she made for the entrance of the har- 
bour. The Spaniards were on the alert, and just as 
the Merrimac turned into the channel I saw the flash 
of a small gun, and immediately afterward the firefly 
sparks along the shore indicated that the infantry had 
opened on her with their Mausers. Then the guns 
on Socapa began to blaze and were followed by those 
on the Morro and Esmeralda batteries and the Punta 
Gorda fort. Within three minutes the Reina Mercedes 
and other ships opened up, and, as their heavy guns 
flashed, the doomed ship stood out clear and distinct 
in the accumulating clouds of smoke. Finally the 
whole entrance to the harbour was a roaring blaze of 
powder smoke, and the Merrimac was shut out from 
our view. It was a dreadful sight — to my mind what 
hell might look like with the lid off! I had seen all 
I cared to look at, and, convinced that the gallant 
Hobson and his equally gallant men had gone aloft 
forever, I retired to the pilot house, where I consoled 
myself with a pipe. Slowly the clouds of smoke lifted 
and daylight disclosed the smokestack and masts of 
the sunken ship sticking out of the water. 

As soon as it was fairly light I received a signal to 
stand in close and prevent any interference with the 
wreck of the Merrimac. I understood at once that 
Sampson wished me to see that dynamite was not used 
on her, and, having reached a point where I could com- 
mand the channel with my guns, I stopped the engines 

435 



A Sailor's Log 

and waited for something to happen. All was as still as 
death, and there was no living thing in sight. I could 
see something swinging to a line from the mast of the 
Merrimac that looked like a life raft, but my strongest 
glasses failed to show anything like a man on or about 
it. Just at sunrise, as I stood on the end of the bridge 
watching intently, a white-covered navy steam launch 
came in sight steering down the channel, and, as she 
approached the wreck, the executive officer, who was 
by my side, said, " Captain, shall I open fire? " " No," 
I replied, *' not yet." I meant to sink the boat, of 
course, if she showed any inclination to disturb the 
quiet of the scene. She stopped near the wreck for 
ten minutes or more and I could see a few men mov- 
ing about on her rail, then she turned and went back 
up the harbour. I never knew until Hobson told me, 
weeks afterward, that Admiral Cervera was himself 
in the launch and that he (Hobson) was under the 
raft with his seven men, and that he surrendered to 
the Spanish admiral and was by him taken to the flag- 
ship. If I had opened fire on the boat, I should prob- 
ably have destroyed her and killed the whole party, 
and two of the most picturesque figures in the Spanish 
war would have disappeared — Cervera and Hobson. 

About three o'clock on the afternoon of June 3d 
Admiral Cervera did a thing that stamped him as the 
gallant Spanish gentleman we afterward found him to 
be. He sent out a vessel under a flag of truce with 
his chief of stafT, Captain Bustamente, to communicate 
with Admiral Sampson and to say to him that Hob- 
son and his men were well, had behaved most gallantly, 
and that he personally would see to their welfare; also 

436 



Guantanamo Seized 

that he would be glad to have us send in clothing or 
other things that would add to their comfort. There 
was never a more courteous thing done in war, and I 
am sure that every man in the American fleet appre- 
ciated it. That they afterward showed their apprecia- 
tion and in a very substantial way is now a matter of 
history. 

During the early days of June the bay of Guanta- 
namo was seized, and, after a sharp engagement, the 
battalion of marines under Colonel Huntington and 
the force under Captain McCalla controlled the en- 
trance to the harbour. The American flag was hoisted 
on the captured Spanish fort, and for the first time it 
flew over Cuban soil supported by American men. I, 
for one, hope it may never be hauled down. The pos- 
session of this beautiful landlocked water gave us a 
secure base where small vessels would be safe in storms, 
and all hands could coal in any kind of weather. A 
great load was lifted from the minds of all command- 
ing officers, but the relief to the commander-in-chief 
was the greatest of all. 

There had been rumours of the approach of the 
American army under General Shafter, and while we 
maintained our strict blockade we prayed that they 
would come soon, for the heat and strain of the work 
were hard to bear. We fired on the batteries fre- 
quently, more to give our men practice than for any 
other reason, for we all knew that it was impossible 
for any naval force to destroy them because of their 
location and commanding positions. We could and 
did drive the men av/ay from the guns and keep them 
away from them whenever we opened on them, but 

437 



A Sailor's Log 

the entire destruction of the works was beyond our 
power. The harbour and the ships it contained 
were inaccessible to a naval force, owing to the char- 
acter of the channel and the mines planted in it. The 
capture of the forts was an army job, and we of the 
navy waited with absolute faith and such patience as 
we could command for the time when our brother arm 
of the service would come and do it. 

At last the rumours took positive shape and we 
knew that General Siiafter was on the way to Santiago 
with seventeen thousand of the best men in the world. 
On the afternoon of June 20th the great forest of masts 
and smokestacks ofT to the south of Santiago showed 
that the transport fleet had arrived. In a few hours 
orders came to send our boats, properly officered and 
manned, to a rendezvous off Daiquiri at a stated time 
to land the army and their belongings. This was a 
great surprise to us all, as we had been notified that this 
duty would not be required of us and we had left 
nearly all our boats at Key West. However, we were 
only too glad to do all and everything in our power 
to assist those who had come to help us to capture 
Santiago and its Spanish garrison. Our only regret 
was that they found us so badly prepared to do the work 
in the shortest possible time. Our officers and men 
were constantly employed night and day for three days 
landing the troops, and manv of them for over a week 
more landing provisions an 1 stores. In a word, we 
did everything that it was possible for us to do, and 
in return received the warmest thanks and the com- 
mendation of General Shafter expressed in official form. 

From my position ofT the Morro I saw little of the 
438 



Startling Orders 

work of the army. Occasionally I could see small par- 
ties of men on the hills back of Siboney, and when the 
troops were seriously engaged I could judge their posi- 
tion by the clouds of smoke from the field guns, but 
of the actual fighting I saw nothing. 

As time passed and the lines were established on 
the land side, Admiral Sampson drew in closer his 
blockading lines, so that we were always within easy 
range of the Spanish guns. At first our distance from 
the harbour entrance during the daytime had been four 
or five miles; now it was three, and during the night two 
miles and even nearer. 

The plan of using search lights was perfectly car- 
ried out and originated, no doubt, with Sampson him- 
self. I was the first one to carry out his orders in 
this respect, and I shall never forget my sensations 
as I did it. The Iowa was well in toward the land 
when the New York steamed in near me and the 
admiral hailed and said, " At dark, I wish you to go 
in and turn a search light on the channel." " How 
near shall I go, sir? " I replied. " Go in until you 
can detect a small boat crossing in front of the Punta 
Gorda battery," came back through the megaphone. 
" How long shall I remain there, sir? " I asked. " All 
night, sir." " Ay, ay, sir." The admiral certainly had 
given me a new sensation. Thp i^ea of deliberately 
placing a battle ship withii; two of the fastest 

torpedo boats in the wof en turning on a 

search light to mark her f as novel at least. 

All writers on the subject ;ed sending such 

valuable ships to sea at r^.i^ht eep the torpedo 

boats away from them; b' •* ^ on had thought 

29 4'- 



A Sailor's Log 

rapidly and accurately, and had gauged the features of 
this special case most admirably, as the result showed. 

At dark that night I steamed the Iowa in for this 
new duty, and, when I reached what I supposed to be 
the proper position, turned on the search light and 
stopped the engines. All hands were at quarters, guns 
loaded, and everything ready to return the fire I felt 
sure would be opened on us. As the ship lost way and 
came to a standstill in the water, I examined carefully 
the channel with my glasses and concluded that I was 
not yet near enough to insure the work I was ordered 
to do. I therefore shut ofif the light and again steamed 
in, and when I stopped the second time, the beam of 
the search light showed up everything very distinctly. 
The sentries on the Morro could be seen plainly as they 
pulled their hats down over their eyes as a protection 
against the glare. The infantry fired spitefully with 
their Mausers without doing any harm, but the bat- 
teries remained silent, which has always been a great 
surprise and puzzle to all of us. They could have shot 
the search light out of us without doubt if they knew 
the first principles of pointing guns. Maybe they knew 
there were a lot of search lights in that fleet and it 
would be a hard job to put them all out. 

After the first night, three battle ships — the Iowa, 
Oregon, and Massachusetts — were detailed to do 
search-light duty, and there was never a minute at 
night, until the Spanish fleet was destroyed, when the 
channel was not so lighted that it was impossible for 
anything to move on the water without being seen. 
The duty was well done, and only those who did it 
know how hnrd it was or how great the strain. As a 

440 



The Search Lights 

rule the darkness was intense, and between the battle 
ships and the shore were guard boats and picket 
launches which would be endangered if their position 
were disclosed, and as a consequence the beam of the 
search light had to be accurately held on the channel. 
To do this when the heavy swell and the strong tide 
were cutting the ship about was more difficult than the 
average person would imagine. It was beautiful to see 
the accuracy with which these great ships were han- 
dled as they came in or went out of position with twen- 
ty-five or thirty vessels crowded about them and not 
a light on any of them. During all the time we were 
there the paint was not even scratched on one of them 
by collision. 

On July 2d the long-looked-for attack on the shore 
batteries about Santiago was made, and the Spanish 
resistance found more stubborn than was anticipated. 
The fleet was much disheartened by the report that 
General Shafter intended to retire and fortify in a 
stronger position; but we all felt that, whatever he did, 
the Spanish fleet was doomed. None of us imagined for 
a moment that Admiral Cervera would attempt any- 
thing in the nature of a sortie, for that would be court- 
ing certain destruction. What we thought he might at 
any moment do would be to destroy his ships, land his 
men, and attempt to cut his way through our weak- 
ened lines. Toward evening on the 2d we discovered 
that several of the Spanish blockhouses to the west 
and northwest of Santiago were on fire, which indi- 
cated that the outposts on the mountains were being 
forced in by the insurgents and that they were de- 
stroying everything before retiring. Just at sunset 

441 



A Sailor's Log 

Lieutenant F. K. Hill, who was the officer of the deck 
on board the Iowa, sent for me, and when I reached 
the bridge pointed out to me these fires, which pre- 
sented a beautiful sight. He also called my attention to 
six columns of smoke near the entrance to the harbour 
which rose straight in the calm evening air. His opin- 
ion was that this indicated some movement on the 
part of the enemy's fleet, which was correct. It 
showed beyond a doubt that they had moved down 
from in front of the city; but, as they had often moved 
about the harbour, I did not consider it a matter of im- 
portance. I only said to Lieutenant Hill that we had 
the first search-light duty that night, and if they came 
out we should have a good chance at them, dismissed 
the subject from my mind, and went about my business. 
The incident, however, made a more serious impression 
on the mind of the signal quartermaster who was look- 
ing after the flags, and he, without orders to do so, 
bent on signal 250 — "Enemy's ships coming out" — and 
had it ready to hoist. The flags remained bent on to 
the halliards all night, and were therefore ready to hoist 
on th€ morning of the 3d, when the fleet came out. 



442 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

THE NAVAL BATTLE OFF SANTIAGO 

About daylight on the morning of Sunday, July 
3d, my son, Franck Taylor Evans, a naval cadet serv- /^'' 
ing on the battle ship Massachusetts, came on board 
the Iowa. He had been on picket duty during the 
night of the 2d, and as his ship had gone to Guan- 
tanamo for coal, he brought his boat to my ship to 
remain until his own vessel returned. It was this lucky 
chance that enabled him to take part in the battle of 
that memorable day. The officers and men were about 
to be sent to quarters for Sunday inspection, all dressed 
in clean white uniforms, and I and my son were just \y^ 

/finishing our cigars after breakfast when the alarm for 
battle sounded all over the ship. Both of us sprang to 
our feet and started for the deck, and as my head came 
above the hatch a gun was fired from the lower bridge 
of the Iowa, aimed in the direction of the Maria Teresa 
by Lieutenant Hill, who was again officer of the deck. 
Before this gun was fired, and immediately upon dis- 
covering the bows of the leading Spanish ship, the sig- 
nal 250, which had been bent on the night before, was 
run up, and thus the Iowa had the honour of firing the 
first gun of the action, and first making signal that 
the enemy's ships were attempting to escape. When 

443 



A Sailor's Log 

I reached the bridge I found the engines set full speed 
ahead and the ship pointing straight for the entrance 
of the harbour. In about two minutes the guns of the 
starboard battery began firing — that is to say, the 
eight- and four-inch guns of the starboard battery and 
the forward twelve-inch guns. The crews of the rapid- 
fire guns were held in reserve until we should get to 
closer quarters. 

As soon as I had a chance to look about me, I saw 
the New York about seven miles away ofi Siboney with 
her helm to port and turning rapidly in the direction of 
the fieet, and, judging from the great volume of smoke 
pouring from her smokestacks, her fires were being 
forced as much as possible. I could see distinctly the 
admiral's flag at her masthead, and with my glasses 
could have read any signal she had hoisted. She had 
started to the eastward a short time before, flying the 
signal, *' Disregard the movements of the commander 
in chief," a signal that had been made whenever the ad- 
miral had for any reason been compelled to leave the 
blockading line. This signal indicated that we were 
not to follow the motions of the flagship, but, instead, 
close up somewhat so as to cover the interval caused by 
her absence, all of which was perfectly understood by 
the fleet. Before the firing began, my son asked me 
where he should take station, and I directed him to re- 
port to the ofTiccr commanding the division that corre- 
sponded to the one he served in on board of his own 
ship. I also directed that the men of his boat's crew 
should be stationed where they could render good 
service. 

As the leading Spanish ship, the flagship Maria 
444 



The Spanish Fleet Appears 

Teresa, swung into the channel leading out from the 
Punta Gorda, she presented a magnificent appearance 
with her splendid new battle flags and her polished 
brass work. Her bright new coat of paint was in 
marked contrast to the lead-coloured, iron-rusted ships 
that were rushing full speed at her. As she passed the 
Diamond Shoal at the entrance to the harbour she 
swung off to the westward and opened fire smartly with 
her port broadside and turret guns. From this mo- 
ment the battle may be said to have been on, and the 
roaring of the guns was incessant. The Vizcaya came 
second, about six hundred yards astern of the flagship, 
followed by the Colon and then the Oquendo, bringing 
up the rear; the torpedo boats Furor and Pluton were 
not yet in sight. The speed I judged to be about eight 
knots as the ships came down the channel, which was 
increased to thirteen or more as they kept away to 
the westward in the open sea. They came at us like 
mad bulls, and presented a fine appearance as I caught 
sight of them occasionally through the dense smoke of 
our battery. 

It had been my intention from the first to ram or 
torpedo the flagship if I could reach her, and to insure 
this, I remained, as much as I could, in the conning 
tower at the side of the quartermaster, who was steer- 
ing, watching carefully every move of the wheel and 
directing the man just where to head. I kept the 
Maria Teresa open on my starboard bow, so that the 
guns could have a chance at her, until it became evi- 
dent that I could not ram her or even get within tor- 
pedo range, when I swung ofif to port, gave her the full 
benefit of my starboard broadside, and then swung back 

445 



A Sailor's Log 

quickly and headed across the bows of the second ship, 
hoping to be able to reach her with my ram. The 
]\Iaria Teresa passed me at a distance of about twenty- 
six hundred yards, and, as she crossed my bows, our for- 
ward twelve-inch guns were fired and I was confident 
that I saw both shells strike the Spanish ship. As I 
swung back for the second ship, my port battery opened 
on the Maria Teresa and the starboard guns continued 
to play on the Vizcaya and Colon, which were ap- 
proaching us at great speed. The fire of the first ship 
had been very rapid and accurate when she opened, but 
it grew ragged and inaccurate as the range decreased. 
I soon found that the Vizcaya would also pass ahead 
of me, and that I could not reach her with ram or 
torpedo. I accordingly swung to port, gave her my 
broadside, and, as she passed at nineteen hundred 
yards, put my helm to port and headed in again to try 
for the next ship. 

At this time the Colon came with a great show of 
speed, passing between the leading ships and the shore 
and much protected by their smoke. As she passed 
she struck me twice — two as beautiful shots as I ever 
saw made by any ship. I had been doing my best to 
fight the Iowa from the conning tower, but the tempta- 
tion to see the fight was more than I could resist, and I 
frequently found myself on the bridge, deeply inter- 
ested in the magnificent spectacle about me. It thus 
happened that I was on the end of the bridge when 
the Colon paid her respects to us. The first shell she 
fired at us, through a rent in the smoke, struck on the 
starboard side a little fonvard of the bridge, about four 
feet above the water line, passed through the cellulose 

446 



V 



Shells coming Aboard 

belt, and exploded on the berth deck, demolishing the 
dispensary, breaking almost every medicine bottle in it, 
and doing great damage otherwise. The smells that 
came up in consequence of this explosion were varie- 
gated and intense, a mixture of medicine and melHnite. 
The second shell, of the same size as the first — about 
six and a half inches in diameter — struck just at the 
water line and about six to ten feet farther forward, 
passed through the side and into the cellulose belt, 
where it broke up without exploding. It however, 
made an ugly, jagged hole, eighteen inches long and 
eight inches wide, through which the water poured 
with great rapidity. The cellulose in the coffer dam, 
which was supposed to swell up and stop the shot 
hole, washed out and floated astern in a broad, brown 
streak. I think the Colon fired only twice at me, and, 
as I have stated, she did excellent shooting as far as I 
could see. 

When the Oquendo approached me, I found that if 
I held on my course she would pass ahead of me, so I 
changed and ran parallel with her at a distance of about 
sixteen to fourteen hundred yards and opened on her 
my entire battery, including the rapid-fire and machine 
guns. At this time she was under the concentrated fire 
of several of our ships and the efifect was most destruc- 
tive. She rolled and staggered like a drunken thing, 
and finally seemed to stop her engines. I thought she 
was going to strike her colours, and was on the point of 
ordering the battery to cease firing, when she started 
ahead again and we redoubled our efiforts to sink her. 
As I looked at her I could see the shot holes come in 
her sides and our shells explode inside of her, but she 

447 



A Sailor's Log 

pluckily held on her course and fairly smothered us 
w iih a shower of shells and machine-gun shots. 

in the meantime the Spanish flagship headed for 
the shore, in tlames, fore and aft, and soon took the 
ground about seven miles to the west of the entrance to 
Santiago Harbour, and a few minutes later the 
Oqucndo followed her, the llames bursting out through 
the shot holes in her sides and leaping up from the deck 
as high as the military tops. It was a magnificent, sad 
sight to see these beautiful ships in their death agonies; 
but we were doing the work we had been educated for, 
and we cheered and yelled until our throats were sore. 

When we were hotly engaged with the last ship, 
two dense spots of black smoke and two long white 
streaks on the water indicated the positions of the 
Spanish torpedo boats as they made their gallant dash 
for liberty. We turned our rapid-fire guns and the 
after guns of the main battery on them, and at the same 
time other ships concentrated on the little gamecocks. 
In a very short time — not more than five minutes, I 
should say — a splendid column of steam mixed with 
coal dust sprang hundreds of feet in the air, and I knew 
that the boiler of one of them had blown up. A few 
minutes later the second one blew up, and the torpedo 
boats that had caused so much worry to friends and 
foes alike were things of the past. They had given us 
many sleepless nights, but when it came to the test of 
battle they had done just what many of us thought 
they would do. They had been disabled and destroyed 
in the shortest possible time. It was almost wicked to 
waste the lives of brave men in such an attempt. 

About this time the flagship New York came rac- 
448 



Destruction of Spanish War Ships 

ing back to join in the fight. As she passed the bat- 
teries they concentrated a heavy fire on her, to which 
she paid no attention, but fired three shots at one of 
the Spanish torpedo boats and then hurried on, coming 
up directly astern of the Iowa. She had the Vizcaya 
within range of her eight-inch guns for some time be- 
fore that vessel ran ashore, but in order to hit her, 
would have had to fire over the Iowa, which I suppose 
was the reason why Captain Chadwick held his fire. 
Afterward, when she passed between me and the wreck 
of the Vizcaya, as I was hoisting out my boats to go 
to her relief, my men broke into cheers as they made 
out Admiral Sampson on the bridge. 

The course of the Iowa had carried her inside of the 
rest of the American fleet, and, as I drew up abreast of 
the two burning Spanish ships on the beach, I could 
see their crews struggling in the water where the shells 
of our ships seemed to be bursting among them. The 
Maria Teresa had a white flag flying forward, which I 
was sure could not be seen by the vessels firing on 
them, so I hoisted the signal, " Enemy's ships have sur- 
rendered! " and the fire was at once concentrated on 
the fleeing Vizcaya. She was soon on fire, and off 
Accerraderos turned and headed for the shore, smoke 
and flames pouring from her ports and hatches. The 
Colon, the last ship of the splendid squadron, was 
standing to the westward, hotly, pursued by the Ore- 
gon, Brooklyn, Texas, and New York. All the rest 
were shapeless wrecks on the Cuban shore, and nearly 
six hundred of their gallant officers and men had 
fought their last fight. God and the gunners had had 
their day. 

449 



A Sailors Log 

At this point the battle of Santiago may be said 
to have terminated; at any rate I took no further part 
in it. I felt that I should be of no use in the chase of 
the Colon, as my speed was low, owing to the foul con- 
dition of the ship's bottom. She had been in the water 
seventeen months without docking, and her cylinder 
heads had not been off for six months. There was 
a duty for me, however, which I felt to be an impera- 
tive one, and that was the rescue of the brave but un- 
fortunate men who had fought us so gallantly. Their 
wounded were in danger of burning to death, and those 
who had been fortunate enough to escape from the 
ships were in danger of death at the hands of the Cuban 
insurgents, who were willing, and I must say with 
ample provocation, to take the life of any Spanish offi- 
cer or man. They were our prisoners, however, and 
I made up my mind that no harm should come to them 
if I could prevent it. I therefore ran in close to the 
burning wreck of the Vizcaya, hoisted out what boats 
I had and sent them to the rescue as rapidly as possible. 
I also directed the torpedo boat Ericsson and the con- 
verted yacht Hist to join in the work. The danger to 
our men and officers from exploding magazines was 
imminent, but they faced it with a courage and cool- 
ness that were habitual to them. 

It was only a short time before the boat loads of 
dead and wounded began to arrive alongside, and then 
the ghastly, horrible results of our Sunday morning's 
work were apparent. I had made every possible prep- 
aration for the comfort of the wounded, and as the poor 
chaps were tenderly lifted over the side and handled by 
the men who, half an hour before, were anxious to kill 

450 



Farewell to the Vizcaya 

them all, I could but be struck with this splendid phase 
of war. The beautiful white quarter-deck of the Iowa 
was soon stained with the blood dripping from the wet 
clothing of the wounded, and she looked as if she had 
been used as a slaughter pen. 

Presently a boat came alongside bearing Captain 
Eulate, commander of the Vizcaya. That was a sight 
I shall never forget as long as I live. In the stern, 
supported by one of our naval cadets, sat the captain, 
-v^overed with blood from three wounds, with a blood- 
stained handkerchief about his bare head.. Around 
him sat or lay a dozen or more wounded men. In the 
bottom of the boat, which was leaking, was a foot or so 
of blood-stained water and the body of a dead Spanish 
sailor which rolled from side to side as the water 
swashed about. The captain was tenderly placed in a 
chair and then hoisted to the deck, where he was re- 
ceived with the honours due his rank. As the chair 
was placed on the quarter-deck he slowly raised himself 
to his feet, unbuckled his sword belt, kissed the hilt of 
his sword, and, bowing low, gracefully presented it to 
me as a token of surrender. I never felt so sorry for a 
man in all my life. Of course I declined to receive the 
sword, or rather I instantly handed it back to Captain ( 
Eulate, but accepted the surrender of his officers and' 
men in the name of Admiral Sampson, our commander ) 
in chief. My men were all crowded aft about the deck 
and superstructure, and when I declined the sword the 
brave hearts under the blue shirts appreciated my feel- 
ings and they cheered until I felt ashamed of myself. 

As I supported the captain toward my cabin, he 
stopped for a moment just as we reached the hatch, 

451 



A Sailor's Log 

and drawing himself up to his full height, with his right 
arm extended above his head, exclaimed, '* Adios, Viz- 
caya! " Just as the words passed his lips the forward 
magazine of his late command, as if arranged for the 
purpose, exploded with magnificent effect. Captain 
Eulate, a sensitive, passionate man, conducted himself 
in a way to elicit the admiration of all who saw him. 
After he had been attended to by the surgeons he occu- 
pied a part of my cabin, and did all in his power to aid 
me in making his officers and men comfortable. 

The work of rescue was progressing rapidly; nearly 
three hundred prisoners — officers and men — had been 
received on board when the U. S. S. Resolute, Com- 
mander Eaton commanding, hove in sight, blowing her 
steam whistle, and with this signal at her yardarm, 
" Enemy's battle ship to the eastward." At first I 
thought that she had dressed ship in honour of our 
victory, and that the combination of signal flags was 
an accident, but as she drew nearer I knew this 
was not the case. A signal man was signalling that a 
Spanish battle ship was off Siboney. and Captain Eaton 
soon confirmed the news through a megaphone larger 
than any I had ever before seen. In reply to my in- 
quiries, I was informed that the Resolute had been 
close enough to the newcomer to distinguish her 
colours, and that she was undoul)tedly a Spanish bat- 
tle ship, and probably at that moment was engaged in 
destroying our transport fleet at Siboney. After giv- 
ing me this information. Captain Eaton continued his 
course to the westward in search of the admiral, who 
was out of sight, in chase of the Colon. ' 

I felt absolutely confident that there was no Spanish 
452 



An Alarm 

battle ship anywhere to the eastward short of the coast 
of Spain, but after a while I saw the Harvard, Captain 
Charles Cotton commanding, coming my way at top 
speed with a tremendous bone in her mouth and fol- 
lowed by a dozen or more army transports, all making 
the best speed they were capable of. Captain Cotton 
flew the signal, " Enemy's battle ship in sight to the 
eastward." The Harvard slowed and stopped quite 
close to me, while I hoisted in my boats and made ready 
to engage the new enemy. I asked Captain Cotton, 
who had assured me that he had been near enough to 
the stranger to make her out beyond doubt as a Spanish 
battle ship, why Captain Taylor in the Indiana was not 
knocking the roof off her. I could see the Indiana's 
smokestacks as she lay at her station off Santiago, 
where Sampson had sent her to prevent some Spanish 
gun vessels from doing the very thing this new bat- 
tle ship was supposed to be engaged in. The answer 
to my question came back very promptly from Cotton: 
" Bob, he has fooled Taylor; don't let him fool you." 
I could see the vessel referred to well out to sea, but 
standing in toward us, and I at once shaped a course 
to intercept her. My ship was cleared for action, the 
guns all loaded, and the men cheering wildly at the 
prospect of having a Spanish battle ship all to them- 
selves; but the three hundred Spanish prisoners were 
a source of anxiety to me. To expose them to the 
fire of their own people would be barbarous, and to 
allow them to mix in with my men and go below in 
my ship during a fight would be tempting Providence. 
I decided at once on the only way out of the difficulty. 
I went to Captain Eulate, explained the position to 

453 



A Sailor's Log 

him in a few words, and placed him, his officers, and 
men on parole not to commit any act of violence 
against the authority of the United States. Then I 
put all his people where they would be reasonably safe, 
and, with the Harvard and a score of transports follow- 
ing me, stood rapidly out to sink the approaching ship. 
Most of the troop ships had stopped near me for pro- 
tection, but some of them continued, I believe, as far 
as Jamaica, ninety miles away. The stranger was now 
in plain sight and my of^cers and best signal men de- 
clared her colours to be Spanish. I gave orders to 
open fire at five thousand yards, and was rapidly ap- 
proaching that distance when she made signal, " I am 
an Austrian," and a few moments later hoisted her 
number. She proved to be the Austrian armoured 
cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa. One of that name was 
a wreck on the beach a few miles away, and the second 
would have gone to the bottom of the sea if she had 
delayed her signal a few minutes longer. The Spanish 
and Austrian flags were dangerously alike for such 
manoeuvring on that particular day. 

A number of dead Spanish sailors had been brought 
on board the Iowa from the Vizcaya while we were 
rescuing her crew. They had either been taken dead 
from the water or had died in the boats. I had had 
them placed well aft on the quarter-deck and covered 
with the Spanish flag. The time had now come to 
bury them, and I therefore stopped my engines and 
lowered my colours to half mast, and my motions were 
followed by the Harvard and the troop ships. Then 
all hands were called to bury the dead; the service was 
read by their own padre in the presence of their own 

454 



Caring for Prisoners 

officers and men, and the bodies were committed to the 
deep while my marines presented arms and my officers 
and men stood uncovered and silent as if we were bury- 
ing our own people. I doubt if a more impressive 
funeral ever took place from the deck of a vessel of war, 
certainly not on the conclusion of a great naval battle 
before the combatants had had time to remove the 
powder stains. 

As soon as the prisoners were received on board 
they were given all the coffee they could drink and 
all the hard bread and corned beef they could eat. 
Then they were scrubbed and fitted out with clean 
new uniforms, and it was hard to distinguish them from 
our own men. They were a fine, muscular lot of well- 
disciplined people. The officers, as well as the men, 
had lost everything except the clothing they wore, and 
this in many cases was very scant. Indeed, many came 
on board entirely naked, having removed all their 
clothing before attempting to swim ashore from their 
burning ships. The officers of the Iowa, from the cap- 
tain down, gave up their quarters to the Spanish offi- 
cers and supplied each one with a complete suit of 
clothing and as much champagne as they could be in- 
duced to swallow. We did all we could to make them 
forget their unfortunate surroundings, and their grati- 
tude was what we expected from gentlemen of their 
profession. 

When I had satisfied myself that the Resolute and 
Harvard had not seen a real Spanish battle ship, I 
directed the course of the Iowa to the eastward and 
resumed my station off Santiago, where I found the 
Indiana and Gloucester on guard. The latter was 
30 455 



A Sailor's Log 

about to transfer Admiral Cervera and some of his 
officers to the Indiana, but, as I knew that Captain 
Taylor had little if any spare room in his cabin, and I 
had plenty, I offered to take them on board the Iowa, 
which ofTer was at once accepted, and Captain Wain- 
wright, who had that day made a name for himself 
worthy the stock from which he comes, brought them 
alongside in his boat. The full marine guard was drawn 
up on the quarter-deck while the Spanish prisoners 
were lined up on the opposite side, and the crew of 
the Iowa, just as they came out of the fight, were 
massed on the superstructure and after-turrets. I and 
my oflliccrs stood near the gangway. As the brave 
old admiral came over the side scantily clad, without 
shirt or hat, yet an admiral every inch of him, the 
officers saluted, the marines presented arms, and the 
buglers sounded the salute for an officer of his rank. 
As he bowed and extended his hand to me, my men 
burst into cheers. For an instant it seemed to me 
that Admiral Cervera misunderstood the demonstra- 
tion; but then he realized its meaning, that it was the 
tribute of brave men for a brave and gallant foe, and 
he stood bowing his acknowledgment while the men 
behind the guns made him understand what they 
thought of him. 

The meeting between the late commander in chief, 
who had with him his son. acting as his flag lieuten- 
ant, and the commanding officers of the torpedo boats, 
and Captain Eulate and his men. was touching and 
pathetic. After I had made him as comfortable as 
possible, he asked to see the wounded Spanish sailors 
who were crowded into our sick-bay. He had a word 

456 



A Glorious Fourth 

of comfort and encouragement for each of them and 
they apprecia ^d his visit. I gave him my cabin, 
where he Hvea until after sundown on the following 
day, when I transferred him to the St. Louis for 
passage North in company with the other captured 
Spanish ofificers. During the evening of the 3d of 
July he sat on deck under a small awning I had ar- 
ranged for him, smoking and receiving the various 
officers who called to pay their respects. While he 
was somewhat depressed over the disaster that had be- 
fallen his fleet and his country, it seemed to me that 
he had anticipated it and bore himself with great dig- 
nity and courtesy. His conversation was most inter- 
esting, and I listened to him with great interest 
until he retired about eleven o'clock. 

By that time Admiral Sampson had returned from 
the wreck of the Colon and we all knew of the complete 
annihilation of the Spanish fleet. There was a death- 
like silence over our fleet as the tired officers and men 
sought such rest as they could obtain. For me there 
was no rest, and I spent the night walking the deck 
keepmg a keen watch on the prisoners and occasionallv 
visitmg the wounded ofiicers in my cabin to do what I 
could to add to their comfort. I felt that we had done 
a good, clean piece of work during the day, and was 
glad for the people at home who would be much re- 
lieved by our victory. 

On July 4th we dressed ship, fired salutes, and con- 
ducted ourselves generally in a way befitting the day 
When we had transferred our prisoners, we took our 
former blockading stations and fell again into our 
watchful routine. Toward midnight the Massachu- 

457 



A Sailor's Log 

setts, on search-light duty, discovered the Reina Mer- 
cedes, a Spanish cruiser of thirty-five hundred tons, 
coming out of the harbour. The Massachusetts opened 
on her at once and the Texas joined in the fight. The 
rest of us held our fire and watched one of the most 
beautiful engagements ever fought. The beams of the 
search lights showed up the Spaniard until she looked 
like a ship in a picture, and we could see the shells 
tearing through' her and exploding all about her. Grad- 
ually she began to turn, then listed over to one side, 
and soon joined the Merrimac on the bottom and 
only a few hundred yards away from her. The bat- 
teries in the meantime opened up and for half an hour 
mortar shells and six-inch projectiles whizzed and 
roared over our heads. The Indiana received a mortar 
shell through her quarter-deck, and was the only ship 
struck. At midnight everything was quiet. The sea 
power of Spain had been destroyed in a manner which 
must bring great credit to the navy of the United 
States, and give us a standing as a naval power which 
we had never before enjoyed. And, beyond this, the 
war must speedily end. 

During the evening of July 4th I wrote and sub- 
mitted to Admiral Sampson my report of the engage- 
ment of July 3d. When I had about concluded it and 
was thinking of something good enough to say of the 
brave men who had fought under my command, my 
pen, without conscious efTort on my part, wrote the 
following words: " I can not express my admiration 
for my magnificent crew. So long as the enemy 
showed his flag they fought like American seamen, 
but when the fiag came down they were as gentle 

458 



The End of War 

and tender as American women." I don't know 
whether it was the memory of the gentle American 
women, or the presence about me of the gallant Ameri- 
can seamen that influenced my pen, but it certainly 
wrote exactly what I felt. 

The blockade of Santiago was strictly maintained 
until the Spanish army surrendered, when we retired 
to Guantanamo, and a squadron of twelve ships, the 
Iowa one of them, was made ready to sail for the coast 
of Spain and call the blufl of Admiral Camara in passing 
his fleet through the Suez Canal ostensibly on his way 
to Manila to annoy Admiral Dewey. For several days 
we lay with steam up and everything ready to get 
under way on the receipt of telegraphic orders, but the 
orders never came. Spain was vanquished, Sampson ! 
at Santiago had completed the work so brilliantly 
begun by Dewey at Manila, and she sued for peace. 
When the protocol had been signed we received orders 
to proceed to New York. 



459 



CHAPTER XL 

CONCLUSION 

With men cheering and the bands playing " Home- 
ward bound," we sailed from the island of Cuba, having 
wrested it from the nation that discovered it four hun- 
dred years before. 

We reached New York August 20th, and there 
received a welcome which will never be forgotten by 
any one who witnessed it. The squadron, fresh from 
the enemy's coast and just as they had fought, steamed 
up the beautiful harbour, fired a salute of twenty-one 
guns ofT the tomb of General Grant, and returned to 
the anchorage at Tompkinsville. The hearts of officers 
and men were full to overflowing because of the kindly, 
patriotic welcome of their fellow-countrymen. The 
hardships w^e had endured were forgotten in the satis- 
faction we felt in having pleased our employers. There 
had been no time to advertise our coming or prepare 
for us a formal welcome; nevertheless New York city 
was one blaze of American flags, and every vessel that 
could steam or sail was crowded to suffocation with 
men and women and children from all parts of the 
republic to welcome our home-coming. It was a spon- 
taneous outburst of patriotism and affection the like 
of which this country had never before seen. 

460 



Presentation of a Sword 

Late in October the Iowa was ordered to be ready 
to sail for San Francisco and I was detached from her. 
I left her with great regret, much touched by the 
kindly feeling of her ofificers and crew. 

From the day of my return I was generously 
treated by the people of all sections of the country. 
They showered invitations upon me for banquets and 
entertainments of all kinds. I could not accept many 
of them, but was, and am still, heartily grateful for the 
feeling that prompted them. 

Some time after I left the Iowa I received a beauti- 
ful sword, which I value above all my earthly posses- 
sions, and the following letter: 

" U. S. S. Iowa, First Rate, 
San Francisco, California, February 14, iSgg. 

" Captain Robley D. Evans, U. S. N., Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

" Sir: The members of this ship's company, who 
had the high honour of serving you from San Juan to 
Santiago, beg leave to present this sword as a token of 
our afifection and reverence. 

" It had been our intention to make this presenta- 
tion when you relinquished command, but owing to 
the disintegration of the crew following our arrival at 
New York in August last, and our hurried departure, 
it was not done. Coming at this late day, it will show 
you, sir, that this action is not from momentary im- 
pulse, but that the afifection and respect of this crew 
for you is deep-rooted and lasting, and that the men of 
the battle ship Iowa will ever cherish the memory of 
their beloved commander. 

461 



A Sailor's Log 

" And with this sword we send our wishes for your 
health and happiness always. It is an assurance from 
us that you are more than a hero to a iiation — you are 
a hero to your men. 

" Very respectfully, 

" F. ZULCH, 

"A. E. Moore, 

" J. Collins, Chief M. A. A., 

" E. McCoRMACK, 

" H. Enels Holt, 

" Committee:' 

My yarn of forty years of naval life is spun. I think 
I can not close it more appropriately than by repeating 
a remark made to me in Cincinnati. I was attending a 
reception in the Chamber of Commerce, where many 
people had assembled to greet me. A white-haired old 
gentleman stopped in front of me and, taking my hand, 
said, " Captain, I w'ant to know how it feels when you 
are sure that there are seventy millions of people each of 
whom would like to look into your eyes and say, ' God 
bless you!'" I could have told the kindly old man 
that it made me feel that fighting by day and watching 
by night, that danger in storm and suffering in tropic 
calm, were but " reasonable service " to such a country, 
and such fellow-countrymen as I am bound to by every 
feeling of my heart. 



462 



INDEX 



Accident, a fatal, 67. 
Active service, 55. 
Africa, a cruise to, 174. 
Alden, James, 79. 
Allegiance, the question of, 46 
America, the, 59. 

Ammen, Captain, 109, 145. 
Amoy, 124. 

Andes, a trip over the, 299 
Annapohs. a new view of i„ 
Ape, trouble with an, 120. 

Arctic fruits, 347, 

Arctic scenery, 319, 

Assault, a bloody, 89. 

Baltimore, the murderedmenof the. 
Battle, a desperate, 95 

Battle-hatch, fall of a, 425 
Bear, a drunken. 49. 
Bell, Admiral, 115. 



Cadet at Annapolis, a, 35. 
Callao, 301. 
Canton, 122. 

Cape of Good Hope, 112, 
Cape Town, a visit to, 113. 
Cards and whisky, 139, 
Carnegie, Andrew, 234. 
Cartagena, 160, 162. 
Case, Admiral, 162. 
Cemetery, a desecrated, 179 
Centennial, the, 213 
Cervera, Admiral, 431,, 
'-tiile, cruise to, 243. 
Chilean insolence, 265. 
Chilean justice, 281, 
Christmas, a curious, 271. 
Civil war approaching, 39 
Coal-shovel, a ride on a, 96. 
Cobra, capturing a. 147. 
Coins, buying rare, 129* 
Coloured cadet, the first. i„ 
Command, the first, 59 



. — ' ^^D- '-"^•uuicu cadi 

Benng Sea. off for, 313 . ^^ival in ^^'^^^rid, th 

b'X '|^°"^ti;ution,onthe,43. 

Convalescent, experiences of a, 100 
Converse. Cnr,,^^-^. ' ^"°' 



Boar hunt, a, 225. 

Boat-racing, 141, jgj^ 
Bounty-jumper, a, 72 
Boyle, Sibyl, 187. 
Brothers in a dilemma, 51 
Brown, George, 125. 
Buffalo, among the, 15. 
Bull-terrier, a. 137. 
Bunce, Admiral, 391. 



463 



--". v-A.pcriences of 
Converse. Commander, 423 
Copenhagen, 371. 

Coquitlan, seizure of the. 328 
Cowlson, Captain, 359. 
! <-ushmg, 117. 

Curtis, General, 95. 

faring, the, 15 x. 
Date fish, 193. 



A Sailor's Log 



Dayton, Captain, 419. 
Death, indilVercnce to, 135. 
De la P'osse, Colonel, 202. 
I'igger Indian, a shot at a, 29. 
Discipline, iiniler, 53. 
Divided authority, 57. 
Divided family, a, 47. 
Doctors, defying the, lOl. 
Dorst, Colonel, 415. 
Douglass, Frederick, 241. 
Duel to the death, a, 91. 
Dupont's fleet, 84. 

Eagan, Mr., 267, 273, 282, 290, 

302. 
Earthquake in California, 307. 
Emperor, the German, 382 et seq. 
Engagement, 154. 
English, Captain Earl, 145, 174. 
English officers, relations with, 137. 
Execution, a Japanese, 133. 
Errazuriz, the, 253. 
Evans, A. H., 10. 

Farquhar, Lieutenant-Commander, 
100. 

Feeding the poor, 197. 

Ferry, Governor, 311. 

" Fighting Bob," too much, 309. 

Fight on shore, a, 66. 

Fire, under, 81. 

Fireworks, American, 379. 

First gun of the war, 412. 

Fishing, big, 325. 

Flag, power of the, 289. 

Flowers, arctic, 330. 

Flying Squadron, the, 63, 423 ; Eng- 
lish, 65. 

Fort Bridgcr, 20. 

Fort Fisher, first campaign, 74 ; 
capture of, oS. 

Frccmantlc, Captain, 220. 



Fruits, arctic, 347. 
Funeral at sea, a, 68. 

Gale, a terrific, 399. 
Gambling on a system, 121. 
Game, big, 26. 
Ghost aloft, a, 209. 
Gibraltar, 159. 
Goat, milking a, i6g. 
Golden pheasants, 139. 
Goldsborough, Louis M., 154. 
Guantanamo seized, 437. 
Guest, John, letter from, 214. 
Gun, a big, 223. 

Havana, 69, 410. 

Hazing at Annapolis, 37. 

Healey, Captain and Mrs., 358. 

Henrietta, capture of the. 352. 

High latitudes, 343. 

Hill, F. K., 442. 

Hobson. Richmond, P., 433. 

Hong-Kong, 117. 

Hooper, Captain, 335, 346. 

Hotham, Admiral, 291, 312 ; letter 

from, 355. 
Hunting in Morocco, 165. 

Iluiluik, 324. 

Indiana, ordered to the, 393. 
Indians, a fight with, 19. 
Iowa, ordered to the, 407. 

Jackal shot, 227. 

Jane Gray, seizure of the, 339. 

Japan, stormy days in, 125. 

Japanese honesty, 131. 

JefTrard, 70. 

Journalism, sensational, 273. 

Journey, a difficult, 105. 

Jowler stolen, 153. 



464 



Index 



Kelly, J. D. J., 187. 
Kiel celebration, the, 374. 
Kimball, Commander, 424. 
Kipling, Rudyard, verses by, 402. 
Kodiak Island, at, 324. 

Lamb, Colonel, 89. 

Lamberton, Captain, 390. 

Lambton, Hedwith, 219. 

Landes, Colonel, 311. 

Lardner, James, 61. 

Le Roy, Admiral, 211. 

Liberia, 181. 

Lighthouse service, 231 ; Secretary 

of the Board, 362. 
Little Breeches, 21. 
Long, John D., 406. 
Long range, fighting at, 430. 
Longstreet, Dr., 95. 
Luce, Stephen B., 44. 
Lydia, seizure of the, 340. 

McGregor, 158. 
McLean, Major, 190. 
Mackenzie, Lieutenant-Command- 
er, 117, 414. 
Maine, building the, 240 ; disaster, 

405. 
Malta, 201. 
Manila, 138. 
Market, going to, 5. 
Married, 155. 
Marseilles, at, igi. 
Mathews, E. O., 56. 
Meade, Admiral, 364. 
Merrimac, sinking the, 433. 
Mediterranean, in the, 190. 
Metallurgy, 229. 
Milligan, 103. 
Monaco, 197 

Mongoose and cobra, 150. 
Montevideo, 249. 



Mormon country, in the, 25. 

Mormon women, 27. 

Mountain chief, seizure of the, 340. 

Nagasaki, 130. 

Napier of Magdala, Lord, 220. 
Naples, a storm at, 195. 
Narrow escape, a, 41. 
Naturalist, a Government, 342. 
Nest of pirates, a, 341. 
Netley Abbey, 370. 
New York, ordered to the, 364. 
New York, return to, 153. 
Nicholson, Captain, 58. 
Nigger prince, a, 371. 
Norfolk hospital, 102. 
Nurse, a Southern, 3. 

Octopus, a lively, 207. 
Oneida, sinking of the, 143. 
Opium-smoking, 123. 
Orient, in the, 107. 
Oriental diversions, 146. 
Orotava, visit to, 177. 
Over-training, mental, 217. 

Parker, James, extract from his re- 
port, 108, 
Parr, Captain, 345, 356. 
Pasha, overawing a, 203. 
Philadelphia, a relic of the, 202. 
Philippines, the, 136. 
Pirates, looking for, 59; Chinese, 117. 
Piscataqua, 109. 
Pitkin, Dr. H. S., 128. 
Plains, camping on the, 17. 
Poetry, Grecian, 194. 
Porter, Admiral, 74. 
Port Etches, 326. 
Port-of-Spain, fire in, 365. 
Port Townsend, at, 309. 
Powder-boat, the, 77. 



465 



A Sailor's Log 



Powhatan, on the, 60. 
Prairie storm, 33. 
Premonitions, 86. 
Preston, Lieutenant, 87. 
Prince unawares, a, 381. 
Prisoners, caring for, 455. 
Privateers, cruising for, 63. 
Prize, first, 412. 
Promotion, 108, 144. 

Quicksand, in a, 140. 

Race, a cutter, 401. 
Ramsay, F. M., 154. 
Refugees, embarrassment of, 293. 
Rio Harbour, in, in. 
Roberts, President, 181. 
Rodgers, C. R. P., 35. 
Rodgcrs, George, 35. 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 403. 
Rouckendorf, William, 60. 
Rowan, Admiral, 109. 

Sailors, troublesome, 65. 

Saint George, island of, 337. 

Saint Helena, 152. 

Saint Paul Island, 332. 

Salt Lake Valley. 28. 

Sampson, William T., 174, 407 et 

seq. 
Sands, Hoban, 90. 
San Francisco, at, 307. 
San Juan, 417 ; bombardment at, 

419. 
Santiago de Cuba, the, 100. 
Santiago, sacking of, 2S3 ; naval 

battle of, 443 et scq. 
Saratoga, the, 215. 
Schenck, Commodore, 71. 
Schcnck, Paymaster, 103. 
Schley, Winficld S., 259, 427 et stq. 
Scalers, among the, 315 et stq. ; 



captures of, 339, 352, 353 ; by 

Russians, 355. 
Seal question, the, 362, 363. 
Seals, home of the, 332 ; habits of, 

359- 
Sea-power, English, 161. 
Search lights, using the, 441. 
Shafter, William R., 438. 
Shark, capturing a, 183. 
Shells, Spanish, 420. 
Shenandoah, on board the, 158. 
Shot, a quick, 1 1 5. 
Sierra Leone, 186. 
Signalling, long-distance, 215. 
Singapore, 115. 
Slavery, days of, 7. 
Smythe's Channel, 255. 
Snowstorm, an arctic, 361. 
Sobra Sada, 193. 
Spaniards, a race with, 199. 
Sport in China, 139. 
Steel inspector, 237. 
Steel ships, 230. 
Straits of Magellan, 253. 
Suffering, days of, 103. 
Sunday amusements in Spain, 164. 
Supply ship seized, 335. 
Sword, presentation of a, 461. 

Target practice, 354, 360. 
Taylor, Harry C, 154. 
Taylor, Miss Charlotte, 154. 
Thompson, John W., 10. 
Topsail yard, on a. 50. 
Torpedo boats, Chilean, 297. 
Torpedo drill, 391. 
Torpedoes, old-fashioned, 163. 
Troops arrive at Annapolis, 43. 
Tryon, George, 219. 
Tunis, 200. 

Turner, J. Milton, 180. 
Turtles, 303. 



466 



Index 



Unalaska, 319 et seq. 

Valparaiso, 257. 
Vial, Captain, warned, 287. 
Victory, an American, 143. 
Villefranche, 224. 

Wachusett, the, 160. 
Ware, Mount, 358. 
War talk, 277. 
War with Spain, 404 et seq. 
Washakie, 22. 



Wasmouth, 92. 
Wells, Clarke H., 158. 
Whistles, 23. 
Whitney, W. C, 234. 
Winifred, seizure of the, 338. 
Wood, Captain R. N., 350. 
Wood, Maxwell, 215. 
Wounded, care of the, 97. 
Wounds, helpless from, 93. 

Yorktown, the, 243. 
Young, Brigham, 31. 



THE END 



467 



MR. BRADY'S NEW VOLUME. 

Commodore Paul Jones. 

By Cyrus Townsend Brady, author of" Reuben 
James," " For the Freedom of the Sea," " The 
Grip of Honor," etc. A new volume in the 
Great Commanders Series, edited by General 
James Grant Wilson. With Photogravure Por- 
trait and Maps. i2mo. Cloth, ^1.50. 

As a writer upon naval life from the point of view of the 
historical romancer Mr. Brady stands at the head of the Ameri- 
can writers of this generation. He is a historian as well as a 
novelist, and his historical and biographical work has attracted 
marked attention on account of the knowledge, the grasp of theme, 
and the power of sympathetic discernment which he has shown. 
A life of Paul Jones by Mr. Brady represents a peculiarly felici- 
tous union of author and subject. There is no more picturesque 
and heroic figure in naval history than that of the doughty little 
captain who fought and captured the Serapis when his own ship 
was sinking under him. His career presented features which 
have proved puzzling to many writers, and the work which 
Mr. Brady has done in clearing up his life, and in presenting a 
lucid narrative enriched with extracts from Paul Jones's more 
important correspondence, has a peculiar and permanent value. 
Mr. Brady's vigorous style, his vivid imagination, and dramatic 
force are most happily exhibited in this book. 

" Brady's •Commodore Jones* is incomparably fine. Being the work of 
a scholarly writer, it must stand as the best popular life yet available. The 
book is one to buy and own. It is more interesting than any novel, and better 
written than most histories." — Nautical Gazette. 

" Mr. Brady's book shows great study and care, and brings out many new 
and characteristic incidents not hitherto published." — Neiv Ha-ven Palladium. 

" Has the fascination of a romance." — Cle-veland Plain Dealer. 

"No better biographer than Mr. Brady could have been found for the first 
admiral of our fleet. The book is good biography, but it is also good patriotism." 
— New York Mail and Express. 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 



GREAT COMMANDERS. 

Edited by General JAMES GRANT WILSON. 



This series forms one of the most notable collections of books that has 
been published for many years. The success it has met with since the first 
volume was issued, and the widespread attention it has attracted, indicate 
that it has satisfactorily fulfilled its purpose, viz., to provide in a popular 
form and moderate compass the records of the lives of men who have been 
conspicuously eminent in the p-cat conflicts that established American in- 
dependence and maintained our national integrity and unity. Each biog- 
raphy has been written by an author especially well qualified for the task, 
and the result is not only a series of fa.scinating stories of the lives and deeds 
of great men, but a rich mine of valuable information for the student of 
American history and biography. 

Each, J2mo, cloth, gilt top, $1.50. 

NOW READY. 

Admiral Farragut - - - - By Captain A. T. Mahan, U. S. N. 

General Taylor By General O. O. Howard, U. S. A. 

General Jackson By Jamks Barton. 

General Greene ------ By General Francis V. Greene. 

General J. E. Johnston - - By Robert M. Hughes, of Virginia. 
General Thomas ------- By Henry Coppee, LL. D. 

General Scott By General Marcus J. Wright. 

General Washington - - - By General Bradley T. Johnson. 

General Lee By General Fitzhugh Lee. 

General Hancock By General Francis A. Walker. 

General Sheridan By General Henry E. Davies. 

General Grant By General James Grant Wilson. 

General Sherman By General Manning F. Force. 

Commodore Paul Jones - - - - By Cyrus Townsend Brady. 
General Meade By Isaac R. Pennypacker. 

IN PREPARATION. 

General McClellan By General Petbr S. Miciiie. 

Admiral Porter By James R. Solev, late As.s't Scc'y U. S. Navy 

General Forrest By Captain J. Harvey Mathks. 

I). AT I' L E TON AND COMPANY. N E W YORK. 



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